The Heir
by SeralynGrace
Summary: Phoebe's son by Cole survived. Under strict guidelines by the Elders, his demonic half was bound. His name, Victor. What if Victor traveled back to help Chris save Wyatt.
1. Chapter 1

_~Charmed~_

 **T** he cursor on the blank word document was teasing her, Phoebe had decided. Her mind had seemingly been devoid of any helpful advice. It was too preoccupied with the latest debacle that involved their whitelighter and his latest confession.

"Pheebs?" called out Piper whose voice was echoing off the walls of the stairs leading up to the attic. Before Phoebe could call out an affirmative, Piper appeared. In her hands were mugs of tea. Phoebe took hers great fully and began to gulp down the warm substance. Piper slumped into the seat across from Phoebe. Her eyes finding her son in the entanglement of the blankets in the pack n go. Wyatt looked every bit the angel with his blonde hair and his rosy cheeks. Her son, Victor Patrick, took after his father with his dark hair and crystal blue eyes. The boys were born nearly two weeks apart, Victor on the twentieth of January and Wyatt on the second of February. Both born with immense power, but Victor's demonic half was bound moments after his birth as decreed by the Elders. For all purposes he was just a witch. A witch with more active powers than his mother or his aunts.

"Piper have you got any sleep since-

"It's not true." Piper vowed. Her eyes leaving Wyatt's sleeping face. She had that brazen glare upon her face. The warning one, the don't piss me off too much face. "He's half angel for Pete's sake." She continued. "if anyone's destined to be evil…," Piper trailed off guiltily.

Phoebe knew it was rational for her to say that. She'd been wondering about her son's future since Chris Perry arrived and told them he was here to save Wyatt from some unknown threat. Sometimes when she was alone at night she wondered if it were Victor that was the threat or maybe something had happened to Victor. Why wouldn't Victor have come to save his cousin? But hearing it from her sister, enraged her inner mama bear, "well, Chris said nothing about _my son_."

"I didn't mean it that way."

"You did." Phoebe retorted. She slammed shut the lid of her laptop and stalked towards her son. Victor stirred slightly as he was lifted out of his crib.

Piper watched as her sister carried her nephew down the attic stairs. She knew it wasn't right for her to voice that but the larger part of herself didn't care at the moment. She was too occupied with what Chris lied to them about. The whitelighter hadn't been seen in days. Not at the house or at the club, but he'd still been here. She'd find potion ingredients used or spells written on post-it notes in handwriting that didn't belong to her or her sisters. The need to question him further or blow him up only grew with each passing day. That was why she decided right then, to hoist her sleeping baby out of his travel cot and to her car.

The club was closed but when she approached the door she could hear voices from within its halls. She pressed her ear to the door. At first she could not make out any of the muffled noise but it soon grew to loud shouting. _Shit_. She shifted Wyatt to her hip, startling him awake as she burst into the door expecting her whitelighter to be engaged in some sort of fight but instead found Chris sitting at the bar with a man who was crudely cleaning Chris' shoulder wound with alcohol. Chris stood immediately when he caught sight of her descending the steps.

"What the hell Chris! Sit still!' barked the unknown man. Chris didn't answer him. Instead he'd gone pale. That's when Piper noticed all of the bloodied dish rags scattered around the floor of her club and when she saw all of the scars lining the torso of her whitelighter.

The other man whipped around to face her. He was tall with a head of curly brownish black curls and light eyes. There was something oddly familiar about him, but before her mind could process where she knew him from, Chris stumbled forward. The other man managed to catch him before he collapsed to the ground.

"A little help?" the man called out.

"Ah hello? Who the hell are you?"

"Ben," the man answered, "Ben Perry. You must be Pippa-

"Piper, are you Chris' brother?" Ben nodded. They both kind of looked alike.

"A huh. Can you help me please? The damn idiot's been hunting demon clans by himself."

Piper flicked her free wrist but found it had no affect upon Chris' alleged brother.

"You can question me all you want in a moment. Just help me,"

"If you're part whitelighter why don't you just heal him?"

Ben had shuffled the comatose whitelighter into his arms and was now dragging Chris towards his bedroom in the back. "What…makes…you…think I'm part whitelighter?"

"Chris is one."

"Oh, so you know that. Okay. But no, we're half-brothers. Share a witch mom."

That tidbit was new. Though Piper could've guessed that.

"Can you call your husband?" he begged Piper, "Leo? Please. Call Leo for him and I'm all yours."

Instead of giving him an answer she flicked her wrists about four times for good measure. It was odd to hear that familiar chime he hadn't heard in so long. But it did nothing. "Satisfied now?"

Seeing his Aunt looking so young and so pissed off was petrifying. Ben had never had that directed towards him, okay, maybe once or twice like when he dented her car with a baseball but this expression looked lethal. His cousin had been reluctant to divulge about his mission. Something about trust issues and the Order. All he knew was that they had no idea who he was and that he wasn't welcome back to the manor. His Aunt calculated it for a moment before she bellowed the Elder's name. Ben could scarcely remember the last time he saw Leo. Grandpa said he'd been at the funeral but Ben had been too drunk to remember any of that.

Leo glared at him when he appeared but Piper shooed it away and directed Leo to the sofa where the whitelighter lay. Chris came too moments later, his eyes still glossy as he stared up at the form of his parents. He opened his mouth to say something but Ben cut him off, "welcome back Chris!" And threw his shirt at him. Chris shoot upward and shrugged into his t-shirt. Ben was acutely aware that Chris was giving him the death glare, but Ben was focusing on Piper and Leo.

"So hi um, Wyatt." Piper said walking to the spare playpen they kept at the bar from when her sisters couldn't babysit and put her baby into it. The blond boy was falling asleep once more. "We need more from you and you."

"Who is he?" asked Leo.

"I'm Chris' half-brother. His _witch_ half-brother." Ben interceded. He and Chris hadn't exactly discussed who was he supposed to be. He was already born. He couldn't just tell them his name was Victor or Patrick, they'd surmise his identity too quickly and Chris would've actually murdered him for that. Why Chris refused to tell them was beyond him. Future consequences be damned. The future was already damned anyways. And though Chris may hide behind his trying to not change as much as possible, thousands upon thousands of things would change. The thousands of people killed under Wyatt's regime would be alive. "But back to Wyatt, yeah he's evil personified. Chris wasn't lying about that."

Chris scowled at him. And for a moment Victor saw his little cousin and not the leader of the resistance. A resistance he'd spent the last years dodging. Many of them only wanted him there for his powers. To unbound his demonic half. The half he'd spent living in fear of for most of his life. His mom always made it a point to tell him that powers were neutral, that it was the user who determined whether they were benevolent or not. He never wanted to tempt it.

"The last person who came from the future tried to kill him." Leo uttered, "whose to say you're not here to do the same?" The concern in his tone surprised Victor.

"You mean Bianca?" he asked before he could stop himself. Would he appear shadier too know too much? "She's dead. Wyatt impaled her. Hung her body outside the manor for all other Phoenixes to see." He realized he said something wrong when all eyes in the room turned to him with mixes of shock and anger. Chris orbed out before anyone could say anything else. Victor watched as the last of his orbs disappeared.

"Did you not know that she was your brother's fiancé?" Piper retorted.

"Fiancé?" Victor repeated, "but she was. Never mind. And no I didn't know. I haven't spoken to Chris in about four years."

"Why?" Leo asked.

"Lets say the future isn't exactly the ideal environment to foster good familial relationships." His right hand had flown to the left and his finger ghosted over the lingering indent of his wedding ring. But he didn't let himself think of that time. "I'm sorry to cut this short but I think I should go find him."

"Another one?" Paige cried outraged the next morning as she sipped on coffee. She was only donned in a slip as she had just orbed in from Richard's. Piper was filling both her and Phoebe in on the appearance of Ben Perry. Paige had yet to comment on the frostiness between her sisters.

"He's a witch," Piper rallied off, "and Bianca's dead. Ben Perry has no tact."

As Piper finished speaking, witch orbs began to circle around at the end of the table forming into the man they were just discussing. He was wearing the same clothes as the night before, but was now wearing a worn Dodger's cap. He looked as if he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

"Whoa, hey! You can't just appear here!" Piper shouted.

"Apologies. Next time I'll aim for the porch and I'll knock." He said distractedly as his eyes had found Phoebe. They paused for a second just too long for normal. He recovered after a moment faking a raspy cough, "have any of you seen Chris?"

"You didn't find him?" Paige questioned.

"No. He's purposely been playing orb and seek with me all night. Can one of you just call him? I don't know, feign worry in your voice?"

Piper frowned, "he's not really welcome here. And for the matter, neither are you. He's done nothing but lie-

"He-We are risking a whole hell of a lot to try and save your son. It'd be a lot more helpful if you helped us. I get it. Your son being akin to the next Source is very terrible, very sad news. But there's a chance we can save him," Ben pressed onward massaging at his temples, "we know something turns him before he turns two. How old is he now?"

"Almost one." Piper answered reluctantly. Whatever Future Boy number two was about to say, it was cut off by the sound of gurgling from within the walls.

"Shit." Was all Ben said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chris refused to acknowledge his cousin's presence. They'd been standing on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge for near an hour while Victor enthusiastically told him about the sign of the trolls, the entity from Aunt Phoebe's most told bedtime story. Chris knew why Victor liked it the story so much. It was the only story where the monsters weren't all that bad, a nuisance but not that bad.

But Chris could only hear what his cousin told him when they found each other in the underworld some five odd years before. Chris had begged him to come to his side, to help. Victor had only said he'd chosen the "neutral" side. And refused to come topside. Victor was probably the sole person on the planet who could take Wyatt in a fight, if his demonic half was unbound.

"I'm sorry about Bianca," Victor said his eyes downcast on the speeding cars below them. "I didn't know she was your fiancé. Last I heard, she tried to kill you. Sent on Wyatt's orders."

"I'm not talking about her with you," Chris replied sharply.

Victor shuffled on the bridge. He had seemingly picked up a nervous tick of rubbing his fingers over his left ring finger. Victor heaved in a deep breath and admitted, "I uh got married too,"

"Congratulations?" Chris remarked. He could now blaringly hear the chorus of calls from the sisters. "They're calling me," It was the first time they called him in days. He wasn't sure if he should be pleased or concerned.

Chris reappeared in the main hallway of the manor. The sisters looked neutral. Well, Piper looked annoyed, Phoebe exhausted and Paige, he couldn't quite place. From behind them he could see the infant version of his brother and cousin. The pair were telekinetically levitating their toys above their heads and spinning them round and round. Some were covered in orbs, the ones Wyatt was lifting but the others were not.

"Your brother said shit. And then left in a huff. Know why?" Piper questioned, crossing her arms and glaring at him. It was a stare he knew well. It was the _tell me the truth now_ glare.

"No, no clue." Chris replied, "He and I are _half_ brothers. Not much in common." He knew his word choice wasn't the best when a cross expression spread across his favorite Aunt's face. It was easy to forget that at this time she'd only ever been apart of the family for almost three years. To him, she was always a part of the family. "Has there been any demonic activity?"

"No not really." Phoebe replied rubbing at her eyes "just my son developing both his teeth and his witch powers."

"Right well. I'm gonna check out the book."

In the attic alone stood Victor. He was some odd four feet away from the book, flicking his wrist to move each page.

"They really need to update their entry on trolls." Victor said outraged.

"Why aren't you touching the book?" Chris questioned.

Victor refused to meet his eyes. That was even more suspicious. One of Victor's most recurrent fears was one day that the book would just start to reject him. _You're just a witch_ , they'd reassure him, _a good Halliwell witch, that'll never happen_. It was odd that it resurfaced now after so many years.

"This is quicker." Victor replied shrugging.

"Touch the book, Vic." Chris ordered, "Go on."

"I don't take orders from you."

That was when Chris knew he'd been unbound. He crossed the threshold, telekinetically slamming the attic door and moving Aunt Pearl's sofa in front of it. Victor stiffened up and raised an eyebrow, "you realize one of our Aunts can orb in here right? And that your mom could blow the door and the sofa into smithereens?"

"You've been unbound?" Chris accused.

"What?" Victor cried. "No I haven't!"

"I can see your molars." Chris told him. It was an expression he heard his mother tell Aunt Phoebe for most of his life. Her son had inherited her ability to lie. "If you're still bound,then touch the book."

Victor tentatively stepped forward and at first touched the tip of his fingers to the book. When it didn't move, he placed his hands all over it. An elated smile appeared across his face. And he cried out in joy. But that wasn't enough for Chris. His reaction confirmed that his demonic side was unbound, after nearly twenty-four years. Chris opened his mouth to say something more, but was cut off by the sound of harsh knocking and the materialization of Paige.

"Hi hello _our attic_." She gestured to the area around them, " _our book_. Don't be blocking it off again okay Perry boys?"

"Trolls?" Piper repeated as she folded Wyatt's laundry later that night. Her ex-husband nodded, his attention fixated upon their son. "You've gotta be kidding me." It was exactly the sort of annoying fuss she needed the night before she brought Wyatt to his first mortal daycare center. She was already nervous, as she was with Wyatt's tendency to orb or conjure whatever his little heart desired. She would've felt a bit more placated if Phoebe had joined her in signing up little Victor. But Phoebe had said no. They hadn't exactly been on good terms since the night she insinuated that if anyone was going to be evil it was Victor. She had managed to hit upon every sore subject she had sworn she wouldn't since the day it was decided Phoebe was going to be keeping her baby.

The Elders had not been pleased by that decision. They used all sorts of rather colorful words to describe him; _abomination, creature, atrocity_ and the list of adjectives went on. It was after many threats of stopping saving innocents for them to at least agree to let him come into existence on the condition his demonic half be bound. She, Phoebe and Paige spent months coming up with a potion and a spell that would do just that. And she had made Phoebe a promise then too, an oath really, that they'd be in it together. And it was worth it when in the early hours of the morning of January 20th, when Victor came into the world.

"How do we get rid of these trolls?"

"You gotta wait till they manifest," Leo said as he shut off the light in Wyatt's nursery and stood in the doorway. Seeing him pause there, in the entryway to their once shared room made her stomach lurch. "And then you can vanquish them."

"Right of course," Piper replied, "we have to wait until we have a problem to get rid of it."

The Halliwell cousins now stood in the empty bar area of P3. Victor sat at the bar. He had poured himself some whiskey and was nursing it. An untouched glass of whiskey sat beside him. It was meant for Chris. But the witch lighter refused to come any closer. Rage seemed to radiate off him.

"Wyatt unbound them," Victor admitted. He couldn't take the silence any longer. Or the glare he was receiving. "It wasn't a choice Chris."

"How? How did he get to you?" Chris stalked around the bar, his arms folded defensively across his chest, "I spent years, years, tracking you down. Hell we all did. We couldn't find you. I had psychics, soothsayers, witches, and the whole lot. And Wyatt finds you? The one person he never wanted too? And _unbinds_ you? The only person on this planet that may be able to match him in raw power. Now why the hell would he do that?"

"To bring you home." Victor replied earnestly.


	3. Chapter 3

~ _Charmed~_

"Alright," Paige said as she dumped a basket of laundry onto Piper's king sized bed. She fixated her eldest sister with a glare that warned her lying wouldn't be advisable. Piper stared blankly at her. "What the hell is going on with you and Phoebe?"

Her sisters' feud had been subtle at first and Paige blamed her crusade of trying to save Richard for not being able to see it sooner. At first it was silence in the kitchen while they prepared potions or just finding one in the manor with the other at the club or the newspaper. It was just too frequent to be coincidental. And tonight at dinner when Piper announced that it'd be just the two of them going to Wyatt's preschool interview. _What about Victor_? Piper had shrugged off the question, mumbling something about him being sick. But Paige had babysat him earlier that afternoon and Victor seemed perfectly healthy. He was a bit tired and fussy but nothing out of the ordinary for the one-year-old. Piper began to match socks then biting on her cheek.

"Piper! You two not getting along will affect all of us. Now what's going on?"

"It's stupid," Piper admitted after a few moments of silence. "I might've implied that the only baby who could be evil in the future might be Victor."

"Piper!" Paige reprimanded. Motherhood had changed both of her sisters. Piper always had a maternal instinct but it only intensified with Wyatt's birth but Victor's birth had done much more for Phoebe. She had become a force of nature in the crusade to protect him and prove to the Elders that it was nurture not nature that would affect the outcome of her baby's future. She spent hours researching cognitive theories and talking to her psychology professors. Not to mention researching the origin of powers.

"I know," Piper barked out. "I know! But it just came out. I was hurt and dealing and I'm still not sure I trust Chris or Ben's testimony of my son."

"And how hurt do you think Phoebe was?" Paige questioned. "She's been told since day one that her son would be the epitome of evil. Cursed since birth, abomination is how I think the Elders termed it. And yes, Piper I don't want to believe that any of my nephews could become evil but what good would it do either future boy to say it was the wrong Halliwell child who turned evil?"

Paige was not sure where her own fury was coming from. It shocked her a bit to be taking on what would normally be Phoebe's role of mediation. But Piper was not looking at her; her stare had become hardened as it gazed on something behind Paige. Paige whirled around to find Chris standing in the doorway looking haggard.

"Can I help you?" Piper asked in a not-so-friendly manner.

"Yes. Meet me in the attic." Was all he said before orbing away. Paige fought the urge to let out a string of curses. Why couldn't future boy's problem wait a moment or two? She felt as if she were actually getting somewhere. Piper was already rushing out of the door and Paige joined her, hurrying up the steps.

"Chris I thought we were done with the cryptic crap…oh my." Piper said upon realizing that Ben now sat cross-legged in a circle of charged crystals. He looked angry and smelt very much of booze. He looked up at the sisters with blood shot unfocused eyes. There was a gush above his left eye. It looked more superficial than harmful but it was bleeding a lot.

"Chris, I get that siblings can be troublesome but usually I'd recommend chatting with yours before trapping one in a crystal cage." Paige said. And not for the first time eyed her whitelighter wearily. He'd been an oddity since arriving in the past, telling them half-truths and doing some very shady things. His brother was more of an enigma. Paige had some odd suspicions about him.

"We need to question him," Chris panted out. Underneath the light of the attic, Paige could see the sheen of sweat that had spread across the whitelighter's face and the harsh bruising that had surfaced on the left side of his face. "He was sent here."

"By who or whom?" Piper asked. When her question wasn't answered right away, Piper yelled, "either you answer right now or I start blowing things up."

"Wyatt," barked out Ben from where he sat. "Wyatt sent me. Just like he sent Bianca."

That tidbit was news to them, but to Chris this was did not seem newsworthy. He was flipping through the book fervently. "We need to adapt the Truth Spell," Chris told them through page flipping, "to just tell us stuff about his mission. Where's Phoebe?"

"She and Victor are visiting our father," Piper answered. And Chris opened his mouth most likely to retort to go get her but Piper silenced him with, "we can solve this problem ourselves and you know we can't alter a spell to be that specific."

"Then torture." Chris replied he knelt by the edge of the crystal cage and picked one up. But before he could began, the crystal was covered in a swarm of orbs and landed in Paige's outstretched hand.

It took Victor a moment to realize what had happened and he was never more thankful for his Aunt Paige than at this very moment. He rubbed at his temple, wishing that he hadn't had that fifth shot of whisky. He just hadn't been able to take the accusatory glare or the silence that had filled up P3. It was just after the burn of the liquid had settled in his throat the Chris pinned him to the wall of the bar and began to choke him. For the first time in his life, Victor flamed out. It was an involuntary reaction to being in peril. He could remember learning about it in Magic school. It was the rush of adrenaline. His inexperience led him to reappearing right where he had left. The display of demonic power only seemed to set off his cousin's rage. A rage he'd only ever had heard about in rumors, but that rage scared him. Chris had never been that violent as a kid.

"We can't just torture your brother Chris," Paige repeated. "It's inhumane."

Victor could see the temptation on Chris' face. The resistance leader just wanted to shout that Victor was only half-human. But he remained silent.

"Well Miss. Paige then what are we going to do with my evil son's agent?" Piper retorted.

"We keep him here." Paige replied, "for now. Until we can find a way to prove that he's trustworthy."


	4. Chapter 4

~ _Victor's Apartment, Downtown San Francisco~_

Phoebe glared at her phone screen for the umpteenth time that morning. The digital clock on its front side read: 8:32am. Piper, Paige and Wyatt were probably on their way to Wyatt's preschool interview. She was waiting for them to text her again, to ask if she was going to join them but her waiting was to no avail. She knew she was being selfish. The preschool interview would be for Victor's future but she couldn't bring herself to go.

"Coffee?" her father said jarring her from her thoughts. Her father had been the most gracious of hosts. He only shooed her compliments away with he loved spending time with his grandson and after a beat he would add, _and daughter_. And he was a natural. Little Victor was enamored by his grandfather and the endless tickles and impromptu dances the man provided. It was easy to tell that her father was a natural around children. What a shame that inner family turmoil had led him to abandon her and her sisters.

"Thanks Daddy," Phoebe replied.

Her father swayed over to the playpen hoisting her infant son like an airplane above his head. Big Victor made engine noises and animatedly announced that little Victor had landed when he placed the boy inside of his pack 'n' play. Phoebe flicked on the television, thankful that it could distract her son for the time being.

"You alright there Miss. Phoebe?" her father asked playfully.

Phoebe had told him the night before of the tension between her and Piper. Of the new whitelighter and the chaos that had ensued following his arrival. She knew her father was probably confused by all of her witch terminology but he listened intently until she was finished ranting.

"I've been better….Victor?!" Her toddler son who had been intently watching Seasame Street now had his head bowed and his eyes closed. If she didn't know any better she'd say that he was praying. She scrambled from her chair and began to very gingerly shake his tiny shoulders. She cupped his face. He felt normal. He just wasn't opening his eyes. _No, no, no, no, no_. Her fingers found the vein in her baby's arm. His heart was still beating. Her father was saying something but she couldn't focus enough to hear him, "baby? Sweetheart, open your eyes for Mama. Let me see those pretty blue orbs. C'mon Victor, just open your eyes." She scooped him up from the pack 'n' play and could feel his breath on her cheek. And then with an infectious giggle, her son opened his eyes as if nothing at all had been the matter.

"Thank god," Victor said as he sighed in relief. Phoebe's phone began to rang but she was too focused on making sure her son was alright, Victor answered it, "It's Paige. She says that Victor astral something to the manor and that you should go home."

Phoebe had never quite had a drive like the one she had just completed. Her eyes kept looking back at Victor in his car seat, curious by his rampant power development. It had taken Prue nearly three years to develop the ability to astral project. It took her son twelve months. He had barely started to use his telekinesis. How peculiar and terrifying at the same time.

When she entered the manor, she found Paige and Piper standing at the base of the stairs by the table. A head rested as its centerpiece. Phoebe tried to shield her son's eyes from the head as she laid him down in the playpen they kept in the living room.

"Hi Phoebe," Paige greeted.

Piper said nothing. She and Paige looked as if neither had slept all night. Phoebe wondered if there'd been an attack on the night prior but if no one was going to say anything she figured it was best not to ask. Leo appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Magic school Leo? That's what this door leads to?" Piper questioned.

Leo nodded.

"Just so you know, this is what's keeping your son from developing social skills." Piper said indignantly. As she proclaimed this, the form of Victor appeared at the base of the stairs in front of his mother's feet. He starred intently up at the door that had materialized midday up the stairs. Phoebe watched in amazement as his astral form disappeared a few moments later, just as Prue's had, in a reddish tint.

"He developed astral projection Phoebe? That's an incredible feat." Leo said proudly.

"Leo, I'm talking about our lives here. We can't just drop what we're doing every time someone's head comes rolling down the stairs." Piper interrupted.

"I don't believe you're saying this. You don't understand, this isn't supposed to happen. Magic school is supposed to be protected from evil. It's the only way Gideon can teach magic to the next generation, Wyatt and Victor's generation." Leo responded.

"Magic school?" Phoebe questioned, "could Victor go?"

"Sure he can. When he's older of course," supplied the head on the table. "They'll be able to teach him how to hone that astral projection so he can use his powers in astral form."

Phoebe couldn't help but to beam. She had of course put much stock into researching different preschools. She and Piper had done it together. They had both gushed about sending the boys off and pitying the teacher who'd end up in charge of them. But they both worried about exposure. Piper was the one who insisted on a normal life and a normal life meant preschool. Phoebe was hesitant. She thought maybe kindergarten would be better, where the boys could maybe develop a further understanding of what it meant to keep a secret.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I think we should help the magic school, because we can't just keep that head on our foyer table, you know? What is it, a centre-piece?" Paige said gesturing.

"Okay, fine but we're," Piper gestured to herself and Leo, "not bringing Wyatt. Pheebs, what about Victor?"

"I'll get Chris to watch them." Leo proclaimed. Phoebe knew her sisters well enough to know something was up when instead of answering Leo; they made grimaces and exchanged glances with one another.

"Er-I'll ask," said Piper. "I think he's already babysitting, what's two toddlers."

Victor had lost count of how many hours he'd been trapped in the cage. Four? Five? He couldn't exactly make out what time it was. He wasn't sure what time he'd been put there. But now he had company. His toddler self, Chris and the baby version of all evil were in the nursery. Chris had summoned an demon who could apparently detect evil. _"I'm sure that'll go swell_. _"_ Victor had called after his retreating form.

"How's it going?" he asked his toddler-self. It was a very strange thing to watch yourself stare blankly at yourself. He also didn't expect an answer. His mother always said he had a bit of a speech delay. And it was evident now watching himself that baby Wyatt despite being younger was way ahead in that area of development.

"Mama." His toddler self said.

"I know buddy. I know. She'll be back soon." He soothed. He remembered then, that Phoebe hadn't been around when they locked him up. Would she be suspicious? Could he astral project to her and get her to free him? He closed his eyes and whispered, "Mom."

When he opened them he found he was cold and in a place that did not resemble the Magic school he remembered so fondly from his childhood. It was a cave of sorts. And there sat his mother and a teenage girl he didn't remember surrounded by a fading fire. The teenager stood up instantly and nervously.

"He's not the headless horsemen," Phoebe interjected quickly. "What the hell? How'd you get out of the cage?"

"I'm astral projecting." He said softly. This was a mistake. Of course her sisters had told her about the revelation that he was sent by Wyatt. He averted his eyes from her mistrusting glare. It was odd to see it plastered across her young features when usually she looked at him with such love and sometimes disappointment. But mostly, love. "where are we? I don't recognize this place."

"Do you go here?" the teenager asked.

"Yes. I mean I will." Victor admitted. He sauntered forward taking a seat in the sand equidistance from both his mother and the girl. "It's one of my favorite places. And hell the headless horseman was a legendary tale that the older kids used to tell us about. I thought it was a myth, myself."

In Magic School, he, Wyatt and Chris had been legends, the famed Charmed Ones' only progeny. It carried quite a bit of weight in Magic school that it didn't in normal school. There were classes dedicated to their family's history and to their home. Albeit, the history they learned a bit moderated and left out quite a bit of details. The main one being who his father was. He always told his classmates that he was some mortal and left it at that. The school became a safe haven and then it wasn't. It was one of the first places Wyatt corrupted after beginning his reign.

"Do you know who's conjuring it? Or why?" his mother questioned.

"No. The older kids just liked talking about how it chopped off heads. Sorry." He shrugged his shoulders and picked up a handful of sand. Neither of the girls said anything. They just watched as he did as the sand slipped out of his hand and into a pile. "What are you guys doing?"

"I'm attempting to go on a vision quest. But all it's caused me is pain." His mother said with a pointed glare. The girl must be a Shaman then. Victor could remember learning about them in school. There was one when he was at school.

"These visions require sacrifice but won't it be worth it to be assured of your future?" the shaman replied. Her eyes gazing suspiciously in his direction, did she know who he truly was?

"Alright." His mother said taking the ladle and chugging the strange liquid. Her eyelids fell shut. Victor watched her face. It was still odd to see her hair so short. He only remembered her hair being long and curly, but not as long as Aunt Piper's. It made her features much more pronounced. He had her chin, he decided then, fondly rubbing his own chin. Everyone always told him that he looked like his father. But evidently that couldn't be true. Surely, the Charmed Ones of 2003 would be able to remember Cole clearly and none of them questioned him about. Or they were just being dense.

"You okay there?" the shaman questioned.

"Yeah…yeah. Just spaced out for a moment."

"Contemplating chins?" she teased.

Victor bit on his lip. He'd forgotten shamans were telepathic. "What's your name?"

"Enola. And you're Victor. Phoebe's son."

Victor smiled sheepishly. He was not going to deny the truth not to a telepath. He drew his legs up to his chest and rested his aching head on them. Astral projection or not, he still felt pain. And evidently he was still overcoming a hangover from the whiskey he treated himself. Enola's glare was unnerving.

"Why don't you just tell her who are you?" Enola questioned. "It's evident how much she loves you-er-the younger you. She's going on this vision quest partly because of you."

"I know," he answered, "but I can't. It'd jeopardize my mission."


	5. Chapter 5

_~Halliwell Attic~_

 **H** e hadn't been expecting to be thrown so violently into the past. Matthew didn't bother to brace for landing as he sputtered across the attic's wooden floor scraping his face and his arms. Matthew came to a halt in front of a playpen that held a wide-eyed blue-eyed toddler, who was clutching a teddy bear. _Victor_. He clamored to his feet and began to brush off the soot that had gathered upon his pant legs.

"Vic, Vic, Vic," he chanted upon seeing the older version sitting comatose in a crystal cage. He kicked away the crystal. The energy beams that had been encircling above faded away into nothingness. Matthew crossed the threshold and hoisted the comatose witch onto his feet and then over his shoulder. The toddler version began to wail, as if sensing that there was an intruder. Matthew ignored the shrill cries and shimmered away.

Paige had followed the wailing to the attic finding her nephew alone and Ben gone. _Shit._ She thought upon seeing the empty cage but her nephew's distress took priority over the escaped witch. In the chaos of the headless horsemen, Chris' stunt with Wyatt and herding the magic school students into the house they had nearly forgotten about Victor. Phoebe would murder them all if she ever found out.

"Hey there buddy," Paige soothed as the toddler sniffed. "You okay?"

He only blinked in response. Paige surveyed him. He looked as if he hadn't been physically harmed. She carried him down the steps to where she caught sight of Chris. What the hell was he doing here? He gestured for him to follow her. She shifted Victor from one hip to another and followed him into the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned.

"I need your help." The whitelighter answered as he nervously shifted from one foot to another.

"That's rich. After the stunts you pulled with both Wyatt and Victor," Paige cried. Upon seeing confusion spread across his face she elaborated, "you left him alone with Ben! Who by the way is no longer in his cage."

"What?! How'd he get out? We spelled the attic." Chris responded.

Paige shrugged her shoulders, "who knows. Listen, I have enough juvenile delinquents to take care of. Thanks."

She stalked towards the conservatory where Piper's head gave her a questioning glare. It was still jarring to see her sister like that. She held up Victor as an answer and Piper's grimace conveyed that she too was feeling guilty. Paige wheeled the pack 'n' play to in front of the TV and flicked on the television. To her toddler nephew she said, "no astral projecting into TV land okay?" To the group of Magic students who were gawking at the infant she said, "If a hair upon his head is touched you will have me and Piper to answer too."

Chris appeared in the doorway once more. She couldn't fault him for his preservation, though it was annoying. Couldn't he sense that? Paige followed him once more into the parlor area. She folded her arms across her chest defensively and barked out, "talk fast Perry."

"I'm running out of time." He whitelighter proclaimed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly that. Don't you see that's the only reason why I went to the demon. He can scan for evil. And maybe figure out who's gonna turn Wyatt since we haven't been able to."

"You're not making any sense."

"Paige, listen to me. I need you to trust me. And I need you to get Piper and Leo to trust me too, before it's too late."

Cries of the headless horsemen and the galloping of a horse droned the last of his words out.

Victor tensed upon seeing his cousin materialize in the cave. He stood up and shuffled away from Enola. If this was to be a confrontation he did not want her to be harmed. Chris' face tightened and he clapped.

"Congrats to you on breaking out of the cage." Chris said sarcastically slow clapping, "how'd you do it?"

"I didn't escape though. I'm astral projecting." Victor replied. Had someone moved him? Why would they do that? Who would do that? Could it be punk kid who conjured the headless horsemen? Enola shook her head. She hadn't a clue what they were talking about. "Shit. Chris if I don't know where my body is I can't go back."

"Stop the bullshit." Chris retorted. "And we need Phoebe the headless horsemen got loose in the real world.

"I'm not lying!" Victor said, scratching at his head. This had only happened once. When he was about six, in a phase his Aunt Paige had termed, " _The Astral Sleep Walking Phase."_ He'd dream about a place and he'd go there in astral form. It happened for weeks. And then one night while they were driving home from a day trip to Disneyland when he fell asleep in the car. Aunt Paige had orbed all of them to bed. But his astral form was not aware of this change no matter how subtle it might be. It took him sixteen hours to find his body. And by that point, his mother and Aunts had been beside themselves with worry. It was what led his Aunt Piper to develop a dreamless sleep potion. He hadn't had a dream in years. "Chris you know I can't lie and I'm sure you remember the dream incident of '09. We have to find my body."

"We'll find it after we destroy the headless horsemen. If it kills an innocent Gideon's gonna close the school." Chris informed him as his mother began to stir. With her eyes still closed she got to her feet. Chris squatted beside her, watching as her eyes flittered open.

"Phoebe, can you hear me? We need your help. Are you okay?" Chris questioned.

Phoebe was still a bit disorientated and she swayed towards Enola, "I don't know am I?"

"You tell me," Enola replied, "What'd you see?"

Phoebe blinked and said, "I saw children, and my child er-my children. And a life without demons. Is that even a possibility?"

Victor was too busy at first contemplating where his body ended up this time at first to hear her words. Did she say children? He didn't have any siblings. His mom always said he was her _one and only baby_. But he knew she had always pined for more. Did she know who he was? Was the possibility of his new siblings mean that the future really changed?

Victor watched as the last of the Magic school students disappeared into the doorway. The Magic horseman had been defeated and the culprit apprehended. When the door disappeared and the pictures of their ancestors reappeared on their rightful spot on the wall he called out for Chris.

"Now can we find my body?" When his cousin didn't immediately respond Victor grabbed onto his arm, "You have to be kidding me. What if a demon has me? You can't interrogate me about my intentions if I'm dead!"

"How'd Wyatt find you? Riddle me that." Chris replied.

Victor's hand once again ran across the area where his wedding ring used to be. That familiar aching had returned. It nestled into the pit of his stomach like an old friend. He took a deep breath, "we were desperate." His cousin's blue green eyes narrowed. Victor could almost hear his questions, _whose we?_ But he knew he wouldn't be able to go on if he didn't get it out now. "Our daughter was dying. It was either we stay underground and watch her perish or go above ground and look for a healer or some kind of apothecary. I know your resistance has some. We hadn't been above for years. I didn't know he had drones." Victor blinked at the tears forming. Who knew one could cry in astral form? He'd have to update the Book of Shadows, he thought bitterly. "in minutes we were swarmed by demons. We couldn't fight them off. They brought us to his Lordship. He said he'd save her-

"He's lying," spat out Chris.

"I know," Victor replied woefully. "But when he sent me back I thought if he really was turned evil like you believe, then she'd have a much better future than the one she was cursed to live in this timeline." The tears fell this time, dribbling down his cheeks. "her name's Grace. She-uh we adopted her. After her parents were killed."

His daughter had been the light of their weary existence in the deserted underworld. After Wyatt took power, the demons no longer cowered there but they roamed the mortal realm. They carved out a poor imitation of life in a cave. He hadn't let himself think of her since he'd arrived back in this timeline.

Chris' facial expression had softened and he looked as if he were contemplating the veracity of his statements. Victor barked back hysterical laughter, "you seriously still don't trust me? Orb us to P3. I'll show you a picture of her."

They only had three photos of her. They were taken by her birth parents. Victor had found them nestled in their meager belongings. It felt wrong to leave them behind. The first photograph was a family photo followed by two individual portraits of Grace. Chris looked annoyed but did as he asked. They materialized outside P3, where one could hear the band's music blaring. The bouncer let them in. He'd been tipped off that they were living there and didn't bother to ask for an ID.

Phoebe caught sight of who she thought could be her nephews as they ducked into P3. Her vision quest had clued her in on some certainties. Paige would be a teacher. Wyatt had a little brother, possibly little brothers. And she was going to have another child. Something she was more than happy about. Victor was going to grow up with a sibling. She excused herself from her sisters and ignored their calls. She followed them to the back of P3.

"Hey." She said. Ben leaned against the desk in the corner, looking paler than she'd ever seen him before. He looked as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion.

"Hey," Chris replied stepping in-between them. "You come here to kick us out?"

"No." Phoebe said as Ben let out a gasp of pain. "I came here to ask you a question. Are you okay?"

"He's fine." Chris interjected. "what's your question?"

Phoebe wanted to say something more to Ben, to assure that he was actually alright but she was afraid they'd bolt. She said, "I need you to be honest with me. No games, no running away, just the truth."

"Alright."

"Are you Wyatt's little brothers?"

Before Chris could answer, Ben yelled loudly, "yes! Wait no, I'm _not_ Wyatt's little brother."

"Then who are you?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm Victor." He said sliding down the desk and clutching at his stomach. "I'm Victor."

Phoebe had heard him the first time. But she couldn't help but to ask, "my Victor?"


	6. Chapter 6

Phoebe knew the answer to the question she had just voiced. The man in front of her who she thought briefly could be her nephew was her son. She could feel it. How had she not felt it before? Yes, the man grimacing in pain did not remind her much of her sweet toddler, save for those familiar eyes. _Cole's eyes_ , no, a voice inside of her corrected, _Victor's eyes_. And without even thinking about it all she was crossing the threshold to where her son was leaning against the desk. Her hand brushed the side of his cheek. The gesture was an instinctive one and she couldn't help but to smile when instead of backing away from her touch, he leaned into it, until he began to wince. Her son jerked forward and collapsed onto the ground clutching at his stomach.

"What's wrong with him?" she demanded of her nephew who was standing in the same spot burying his face in his hands. When her nephew didn't immediately answer her she added, "Chris! Christopher!"

"Do we go after her?" Piper questioned. She and Paige had been starring at the door to the back of P3 for the last ten minutes waiting for their cryptic sister to re-emerge from its depths. Paige nodded and they stood from their stools abandoning their drinks to weave around people to the back of the club. Piper barged in, _it was her club_ , and she reasoned she didn't have to knock. The sight before her was not one she was expecting. Ben was lying on the floor with Phoebe caressing his face and yelling at Chris.

"His body was stolen from the manor," Chris said, "If he doesn't know where it is, he can't astral back. It's happened before, but not like this."

" _Stole his body_?" Phoebe repeated through clenched teeth. Her eye fell upon Piper and Paige then, "Paige, get the crystals. Chris help me get him to the sofa,"

Paige caught Piper's eyes. The eldest sister was at a loss for words, she shrugged. She trusted Phoebe and for now that was enough. As Paige disappeared from the backroom she began to scavenge through the belongings searching for something that could be used to scry. She settled on a plaid t-shirt she'd seen him wear.

"Pheebs?" Piper called out when she noticed her sister was now holding onto Ben's hand and looked as if she weren't breathing. "honey you've gotta breathe. We'll help him, I promise. You have got to breathe"

Paige returned then. In her arms she had a map and the crystals. She and Chris wordlessly sat it up on the desk. And Chris began to scry, but his eyes were still upon his cousin. Phoebe could guess why. He was waiting to see if she'd reveal their identities and she knew she should. Piper at least deserved to know about her second son. Phoebe knew she would've much rather had known. But that was something to contemplate after they found her son's body.

"Nothing's coming up," Her nephew uttered aloud. The words were not comforting. "Call for it," croaked Victor, his eyes fluttering upon his Aunt Paige. Paige for her part looked startled at being addressed.

"I-I- can't. I've never called for something that I never had an idea of where it could be."

"You've gotta try!" Phoebe pleaded.

Paige stepped forward into the center of the room. She closed her eyes and scrunched up, hesitantly she called, "Ben's body?" Nothing. No bright orbs. Her son's body was still missing.

"Try a spell," croaked her son. His words were interrupted by a coughing fit. Her mind was too absorbed with concern and hysteria to think properly. She shot a desperate look at her sisters.

Piper was the first one to react. She hurried over to the desk and began to scavenge for a pen and a blank sheet of paper. Her eyes glazed for a moment at the copious amounts of paper that was now consuming the desk. Wait did she see conception date written as the head on some of the weird charts? But before she could look any further, Future Boy 1.0 snatched the papers away stuffing them into the first draw.

Victor watched as his body materialized in bright orbs. It looked terrible with its odd pallor and the dried blood on the sides of his face. He felt his astral self-slipping then and when he opened his eyes again he was on the floor of the backroom starring up at his relatives. His mother, in all of her five foot two glory was the one to yank him from the ground. He winced at the sudden movement and then forced himself to jerk away from her embrace. If she had began to embrace him, her sisters would get too suspicious. She looked hurt for a moment but then it seemed she too realized her clueless sisters were still in their midst.

"Look I can explain." Phoebe began but Piper held up her hand.

"You can and will later," she said and then shouted, "LEO!"

His Uncle materialized moments later. The man was carrying a baby monitor in one hand and a bottle in the other. Aunt Piper instead of giving him a verbal answer, gestured in his direction.

"Heal first," his mother chimed in.

It'd been so long since he'd felt the warmness of a whitelighter's healing powers. The pain in his body evaporated in moments.

"Thanks Leo," Victor said and then to his bewildered Aunts added, "thanks to all of you."

"Hold up on the thanks buster," Piper said, "we still don't know who took your body or why. Any ideas?"

"No. Honest, I swear." Victor replied. "And Phoebe was only helping me because she's an Empath."

The lie came hurtling out of him. It was the only explanation he could think of that might be plausible enough to somewhat make sense. One of his earlier memories was of drinking the Empath blocking potion. His mother had sat him down and explained that she could feel emotions and that he was now old enough to be entitled to the privacy of his own. Though she'd caution sometimes if it was a particularly strong emotion or if he was hurt or sick, she might still be able to feel it. His Aunts both turned to him. Their glares were questioning and he could feel Chris' _what the hell are you doing_ glare at his backside.

"He's right," his mother chimed in smiling a bit too harshly, "I came in here and I was overcome by his pain."

"Okay," Piper appeased folding her arms across her chest. "Okay. But how do we know still to trust him? If Wyatt," she said her son's name as if it pained her, "sent you. And the last person he sent was an assassin?"

"Because, because I trust him," Phoebe uttered, "and I can't explain why. You're just going to have to trust me." Phoebe stared at her stubborn older sister, praying for once she'd just accept this.

"Alright." Piper acquiesced after a few moments of silent contemplation. Chris let out a relieved sigh. She shuffled towards where Paige was. "Let's go home. Phoebe?"

"I'll meet you there." Phoebe said quietly, rubbing her neck as an excuse to keep her hands busy.

Paige opened her mouth to protest, but shut it as they disappeared in a flurry of orbs. Leo said nothing as he gave them a hardened glare as he too orbed away. It left mother, son and nephew alone in the backroom where silence claimed them. Phoebe was mentally reviewing her son. Victor was starring at his left hand intently. But Phoebe counted, five fingers.

"Something wrong with your hand?" she asked. "I can call Leo back."

"Oh no," Victor said suspiciously letting his left hand done and tried to obscure it from her view behind his leg. He smiled at her. A guilty smile and now she knew what Grams and Prue and Piper meant when they told her they could see her wisdom teeth. A part of her wanted to push and ask, but the majority of her was exhausted and overwhelmed by an overload of maternal instincts. She was fighting the urge to want to tuck the man in front of her into bed and watch him feel asleep like she'd watch little Victor fall asleep. But this was a grown man and she had no idea how to parent an adult who was only maybe physically five years younger than she was.

"You're sure you're alright?" she asked deciding it was a neutral approach.

"I'm fine," he replied offering her a grin.

"We'll have to find who took your body and vanquish them."

"I'm sorry to cut this reunion short," her nephew interrupted. She had nearly forgotten he was in the room. "but what are you going to tell Piper?"

"You mean Mom?" Phoebe deadpanned folding her arms across her chest and leveling a glare at him. She meant to be serious at that moment, heck angry, but Chris at the moment made a face that looked so much like Piper she couldn't help but to let out a snort. She recovered, forcing herself to grimace, "are you going to tell me why you had your mother and Aunt imprison my son in a crystal cage?"

"Because he told me my evil overlord big brother was the one who sent him?" Chris retorted defensively, "the last one nearly killed me. Also when the shit storm began your son high-tailed it to the underworld. I haven't seen him in nearly six years."

"He's right Mom," Victor cuts in. The word "Mom" makes her heart melt but the shamed look upon his face makes it shatter. "But I promise I'm here to help you Chris, like I should've been from the very start."

After multiple promises to use the crystals to protect themselves Phoebe finally left. Chris was contemplating the effects of a memory spell. The Aunt who couldn't keep a secret was the one who knew. And his mother was suspicious. This was not going to end well for him. He rubbed his temples and could hear his cousin rustling through his meager belongings.

"This is her," Victor said, "my daughter."

Chris opened one of his eyes wearily. The photograph was ripped, yellowed and tattered but he could still see her. She was a tiny thing with large golden curls and brown eyes. Victor was kneeling beside her. He as always wasn't looking at the camera. Rather his mouth was open as if in mid conversation with whoever was behind the lens of the camera. Behind them was the sandy landscape of the vacant underworld. Chris forced himself to smile. Victor stared fondly at the picture, thumbing the spot where his daughter's face was before gingerly storing it away.

"Chris I know who took my body," Victor admitted.

Chris raised an eyebrow and questioned, "you do?"

In response, his cousin held up his left hand. Chris was too tired to notice that anything was amiss until his cousin started wiggling his ring finger. On said finger was a gold wedding band. "Your ex wife stole your body?"

"Something like that," Victor replied.

"Is she a witch? Demon?" Chris questioned, "did Wyatt send her too?"

"His name is Matthew," Victor uttered out, "and he's half-Manticore."


	7. Chapter 7

It was the first time he'd ever come out to anyone in his family before. He'd known or rather suspected since he was maybe six or so. But he ignored those feelings and then it was too late to tell anyone in his family, they were either dead, imprisoned, evil or a running a resistance. After a few moments of silence, Victor dared to take a peek at his cousin. Chris' facial expression was guarded. But at least it wasn't outright disgust.

"Please say something." He uttered unable to handle the silence any longer. He crossed his arms over his beating chest and clenched his fingers around his biceps, digging his nails into his t-shirt.

Chris opened his mouth and then shut it. His next words were not exactly what Victor was expecting, "you married my stepbrother? Your step cousin?"

"Step. As in we had no blood relation." Victor clarified unable to keep the slight snort out of his tone. He wasn't sure if the snort was from happiness that Chris wasn't voicing opposition or from his lack of sleep. "We uh," Victor scratched at the back of his head, "we went underground together." He could feel his cheeks growing redder, "and got er together."

"Wow," Chris said his eyes wide and unblinking. Victor wasn't a telepath but he could see that his cousin was now grazing over the memories looking for any sort of sign. Derek and Aunt Piper married when he was fourteen. Matt was thirteen and the most surly best man Victor had ever seen. They moved into the manor shortly afterward. Matt was distant and quiet and shy but Victor understood him in a way that Chris, Wyatt or their parents couldn't. He was half-manticore and Victor was half demon. Others (namely the Elders) were fearful they were going to be influenced by their evil genes inherited from parents they'd never met. "You guys did spend so much time together. Wow."

"Yeah we did."

"What happened?"

Victor shuffled, "Our daughter. Matthew joined Wyatt whole-heartedly and I didn't. He blames me."

"I'm sorry." Chris said, "Should we scry for him?"

"Let me handle it. If I know Matt," Victor felt himself blushing again, "and I do. He won't attack for a while. He'll be licking his wounds and plotting."

"That's comforting." Chris retorted. "But I guess with your half demon part in tact you should be able to handle yourself fine." And then his face scrunched up in a weird way, with his eyebrows knitting together.

"What?" Victor prompted.

"I was uh just imaging a manticore and Balthazar." he gestured crudely with his hands.

"Chris!"

"Okay. I'm sorry. This is all new to me." Chris replied softly he sauntered off to his desk where he methodically took out each piece of the research he'd been so carefully working on. "Vic, by the way, I don't think anyone in our family would have any issue with you being-

"Gay?" The word came out as soft as a barely audible whisper. The label had haunted him for most of his life. Chris gave him a knowing expression. "Chris please don't say anything to my mom." He felt like he was fourteen again. Sitting in his bedroom in the manor after his first kiss with a girl. He knew he should've felt elated but he felt weird.

The house was dark when Phoebe's cab pulled up in front of the curb. She fished out the necessary cash and tried her very best to tip toe into the manor unnoticed. Phoebe was hoping to avoid either of her sisters. The first floor was quiet. The only thing stirring was the dependable grandfather clock. She'd mastered climbing the stairs without making a noise when she was a teen. She was nearly to her room, but she could not help but stop to peek into the nursery.

"Hi," Piper greeted from where she sat in the rocking chair. Wyatt was laying against her right arm and Victor on her left. Their little legs were intertwined on her lap. In both boys' mouths were matching blue pacifiers.

"Hi," Phoebe said back crossing the threshold and gently prying Victor from her sister's arms. Her toddler stirred but only for a moment. She laid soft kisses to his curls and rested him upon her hip.

"Phoebe-

"I don't want to talk about tonight Piper," Phoebe said, "between being momentarily beheaded and everything else."

"I wasn't going to ask. I was going to apologize," Piper replied with softness to her tone. "For what I said about Victor. I was hurt but it was no excuse to take it out on my godson and on you. He's a good boy." Her voice broke on the word good.

Phoebe had forgiven her sister days ago. It'd been her time spent at her father's that let her conclude that. She couldn't exactly imagine what Piper was going through. Her pregnancy and the end of her relationship with Cole was something she could never find the words to explain to another person. She spent months not feeling like herself. Piper and Paige were patient. They gave to her time alone and brought her food in bed. But still their sympathetic glares did not seem to garner enough understanding of what it was like to have turned evil (briefly), to have a husband betray you and to be pregnant with his child. Piper on the other hand had the father of her child be promoted to Elder courtesy of her second son. And was told her son was going to turn evil and torment and kill. It was an emotional turmoil Phoebe wouldn't wish upon anyone. And in that moment she wanted nothing more than to tell Piper that her second son was here, that was he was good. That he was selfless.

"And Wyatt will be good too. Piper I promise we'll save him." Phoebe uttered.

Piper smiled though her eyes were still watery, "Pheebs, I can't-can't help but to think maybe it's my fault."

"Your fault?"

"That he turned out to be evil. I mean he has an Angel for a father and me-

"A kick ass witch? Piper c'mon that's ridiculous. You shower him with nothing but love. And I love him. Paige loves him. Victor loves him. His br." Phoebe cut off. Piper blinked up at her expectedly.

"His father loves him." Phoebe mended. "Piper we will save him."

"What if he's because he comes from a broken family?" Piper uttered aghast with such guilt and shame.

"Piper, _we_ come from a broken family. And aside from a few insistences we're the _Charmed_ ones. We will save him."

Paige appeared at the doorway then. She was wearily rubbing at her eyes and had braced herself for meditating between her warring sisters but found that they were in the midst of some sort of emotional break through. She couldn't help but smile though she was exhausted. Piper stood then. She laid Wyatt back into his crib and took that time to wipe away at her eyes.

Victor had waited until he was assured that Chris was asleep before daring to sneak away from the club. The damn witch lighter refused to go to bed. He was too absorbed in his conception charts. He only climbed into bed as it was nearing sunrise. Once he was in the alleyway he thought of the underworld. Of the first cave he had inhabited when he came across Matthew injured. The obstinate half-manticore kept insisting he was fine though his breath was labored and short. All of the signs of a busted up rib. Victor could remember the excitement he felt swell up inside of him as he helped Matt slip out of his shirt. The excitement rapidly evaporated as he caught sight of the myriad of bruises, ranging in color from yellow to green to purple that lined his torso. He had to fight the urge to gingerly run the tips of his fingers across the bruises but the rational part of his brain halted him. Matt would surely not appreciate it. He felt his own breath become hitched every time the half-manticore winced as he bandaged them. It was then just as he was almost finished tying off the bandage that Matthew had kissed him. The brush of his lips was so brisk and tentative that Victor thought he imagined it until he caught the desperation in those grey green eyes. And that was when he leaned back in to chastely return the kiss.

His revere was broken by the sound of footsteps behind him. He jerked around to see the ghoulish appearance of a manticore. The side of his lover he had only ever seen in such desperation of feelings.

"That's not you." Victor said.

The only response he got at first was hissing and the flicking of the signature long tongue. It was feral. It wasn't Matthew. Not at all, _what has Wyatt done to you_? Have you forgotten how much you loathed that part of yourself?

The manticore rushed towards him then. And he could've flamed away but he didn't. He let himself be slammed against the harsh sediment of the cave. The uneven edges of the rock dug into odd places in his back through the sweater he was wearing. His feet were hoisted off the ground. Matt chose that moment to fade back into his human-self. His dark hair was shaggier than Victor had ever seen. Long curls covered his eyes and there was pallor to his skin.

"How _could_ you?" the words that came tumbling out of his mouth were ones that Victor had heard before. "Our daughter. Does she mean nothing to you?!" The arm that was hoisting him up pushed further in. His lack of air didn't hurt nearly as much as the words did.

"You and Grace are my world." Tears blurred his vision then. He could feel each individual drop dribble down his cheeks.

"She's dead." Matthew spat. "She died in my arms. And you're here playing family turning against the one man who could save her!"

Grace had been comatose when he left. A slither of the girl she once was. Victor was so unnerved when he gripped her hand for the last time. It was as if she turned into a bird. Her skin was stretched over bones just like the skin stretched over her gaunt cheeks. He kissed the brow of her head whispering her lullaby as he tried to absolve abandoning her and her Papa. The first punch numbed him. Victor felt himself slide against the rock wall. He didn't feel the rest of the punches.

"You fucking coward!" Matthew screamed as he lifted Victor up by the collar of his sweatshirt "How dare you? Leave me alone to watch her die. I heard her last breath. I felt her body go cold. Do you know what that's like? Do you Victor?"

"HEY!" Chris yelled as he telekinetically shoved his stepbrother away from his cousin. Matthew turned to him looking enraged. Chris had never quite seen a man looking so broken. But instead of retaliating he shimmered away. Victor was a crumbled ball against the rocks. His face pummeled to a bloody mess. Both of his eyes were already swollen shut. Blood oozed from the gash on his forehead. But what was more alarming was his lack of response to Chris shaking him and screaming.

Of the three Halliwell cousins, Chris was the shortest and thinnest. Victor was in no means large but he had a muscular build like his parents and he was dead weight and it was hard to manage him and all of his gangly limbs at the same time. With great difficulty and quite a number of swear words Piper Halliwell wouldn't approve of, Chris had managed to swing Victor's left arm over his neck and he was now upright. But his head was rolling like he was an infant.

They disappeared in a flurry of orbs and re-appeared in the backroom of P3 where Victor slumped onto the sofa. Chris leaned over him, pressing two fingers to his cousin's neck. Once he was assured there was a pulse, he began to call out for the one person he liked least to call.

Leo Wyatt had been meditating when the frantic calls came. He returned once more to the back room of P3 wearily. "What is…" he began when he noticed that Chris didn't looked harmed at all. His eyes scanned the room and found Ben who looked as if he had been in a terrible fight. He raced to the edge of the sofa and began to heal away. Once his face was cleared, Chris edged over and he lifted his brother's body up revealing a bunch of abrasions lining the back. It looked as if he'd been dragged against concrete. When the last of those deep marks turned to pale healed skin, the boy still didn't wake.

"Is he alright?"

"Why don't you tell me Chris? I healed his wounds. But what was he doing before? Did someone steal his body again?"

"No. He was in- a kind of private fight."

"If it was of the emotional sort that could be why he isn't waking up."

"Makes sense then. Thanks Leo." The surly whitelighter shuffled to the desk where he picked up a discarded compass and began to draw lines. "you can go now. I can watch him."

"Hmmm." Leo said but he didn't return to the heavens. Instead he returned to the manor, specifically to the nursery where Wyatt slept. The boy was a wild kicker in his slept and the quilt that Leo's Nana had made lay in a humbled heap at his feet. Leo gingerly untangled it from the little feet and tucked the fabric around his son. When all of his son's limbs were encased safely inside, he laid a kiss to the boy's blonde head and brushed away some of the locks.

His son looked just as he did when he was a baby. There was nothing of his mother in his face. Shame. Piper was beautiful and as much as she loved Wyatt that still must be hard, Leo mused as he meandered around the nursery pausing before the picture of him, Wyatt and Piper in happier times. Piper entered then, carrying a basket of laundry. She was adorned only in the white robe. Her hair was tied up messily and there were dark circles underneath her eyes.

"Leo?" she asked. "Was he crying?" Her weary expression was replaced by one of pure concern.

"No. No. Piper I have something I have to tell you," Leo said, "a couple of things actually." He divulged about his session spent healing Ben Perry once again and then he told her of the council regarding Chris' behavior.

Piper's dark eyes regarded him cautiously. He thought for certain she'd concur with his decision. Chris had done more harm then good as a whitelighter. She instead picked up the laundry basket and rested it upon her hip, "Leo. Ben isn't a whitelighter. You can't recycle a non-whitelighter. Are we just going to banish him back to the future where Wyatt's….," she trailed off knowing that Leo knew what she meant. "and aside from that, Phoebe trusts them now. She's asked me to trust her and I'm going to trust her. I made a huge mistake and I owe her that."

"I'm sorry to dump this all on you Daddy," Phoebe uttered as she passed the length of his office. It was his lunch break. His lunch, a pathetic looking almond salad was untouched. Victor Bennett couldn't fathom eating as his mind was reeling. "But I had to tell somebody. And I can't tell Piper because well he doesn't want her to know. Which is ridiculous I know."

"Uhm. Let me get this straight." Victor said as he rose from his seat. He thought his wife being a witch would be the shock of his life. "Wyatt is going to turn evil. And his little yet to born brother traveled back in time as Chris Perry. And your son, Victor is here too."

"A huh. My son dad. He's good." Phoebe whispered awestruck. Tears blurred her vision and she turned away from him. "He's so handsome too Daddy. He's tall," she gestured with her hands, "and Chris is too. Those boys must've gotten their height from you. And his hair it's darker and a little less curlier. His eyes are so blue just-just like his father's."

In spite of his confusion, Victor liked to hear the elation in his daughter's voice. He may not understand their Wiccan ways but he was still their father and every father just wanted their child to be happy.

"I'd love to meet him. Meet them." Victor said.

"Of course you can meet them. But maybe after Piper knows too? I should tell her right?"

"Well." Victor said, "I guess that depends. You say he's Leo's? And they're not together?" His daughter nodded in affirmation. "Well er…," it was not a topic he liked to think about in regards to his daughters, "how many years apart are he and Wyatt?"

Phoebe paused. Victor was older than Wyatt by two weeks. And she'd heard him protest that he was twenty-four when the bartender tried to deny him a drink. Wyatt must be twenty-three too. Chris said he was twenty-two.

"Maybe a year and half?" Phoebe guessed. And then she realized why her father was asking. "Shit. I'm going to kill him."


	8. Chapter 8

"Chris! Chris!" his Aunt's voice cut into the silence that had settled over the bar of P3. It was mid afternoon. Victor was still asleep. Chris had been careful to surround him with a crystal cage as he relocated to the bar where he could spread out. His aching back had requested the change. Aunt Phoebe was hurrying down the steps. He glared up at her expectantly. "When er how many months apart are you and Wyatt?"

"Uh," Chris replied. His fingers danced along his scribbled writing. "Er- about eighteen months?"

"Eighteen months? Chris..."

Chris' fingers drummed along his chicken scratch. His calculated conception dates were written there. The window was from the 28th of January to Wyatt's birthday on the second. He tried not to think about that date's significance. It was Monday the twenty-sixth currently. He couldn't meet his Aunt's eyes. Instead he focused on the dates, "yeah we need to get my parents back together."

"We?" Phoebe cried. "Why the hell would you split them up? Chris they were happy. They were adjusting."

Chris hunched his shoulders. He tried not to let her words hurt. He always thought he was the reason they split up. _No, Peanut you're not_. Piper would always retort but he never believed her in spite of her teary smiles and hugs.

"If my mom and dad don't get back together and do it. There is no me." Chris uttered.

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you promoted your father to Elder."

"I had to become your Whitelighter somehow. To get close to Wyatt, I've just been so consumed by trying to save him I've forgotten about my own conception date."

Phoebe gagged and then recovered when she realized she had to be the mature one. She was the Aunt and he was the nephew and right now Leo's blue green eyes were boring into her form beneath dark fringes of brunette hair pleadingly. She laid her workbag on the counter hastily spilling some of the letters from her readers on top.

"Help me?"

"Fine. But it'll have to be on _my_ terms. Where's Victor?"

"He's asleep. He wasn't feeling well."

"Is he sick?"

"No. Just tired."

It was not as if she didn't believe him but she wanted to check for herself. Victor lay asleep on the dingy sofa. His long limbs hanging over the end of the sofa and drool dribbled down his cheeks. She approached as softly as she could and placed a hand to his face. He felt normal just looked a bit pale. She took the quilt from where it lay on the desk and covered him with it pressing a kiss to his temple before returning to her soon-to-be-conceived nephew.

"Please." Was all he said. He looked incredibly like Piper. How had she not noticed it before? It was funny. Everything about Wyatt screamed _Leo._ It was quite a shock that he was retaining his light features when his mother and her family had such dark ones. Piper often spent times searching his face for some sign of her in her firstborn. Everything about Chris screamed Piper but with Leo's eyes.

"Fine, buster. But it'll have to be on my terms. I have to get to work. Are you sure he's-….," her hands brushed against the envelopes and a premonition overtook her.

Paige knew Piper was trusting Phoebe about whatever revelation she'd come to regarding the future boys but she was still curious. Nothing about them added up. And she started to notice that Ben hardly responded to his own name that made her think it wasn't his name.

P3 was empty save for a weary Ben sitting at the end of the bar. An untouched glass of water was in front of him and he had his face buried behind his hands. Phoebe's work bag and coat were sitting on one of the stools. On the bar in front of them was a bunch of discarded letters but no sign of Phoebe.

"Ben? Ben?" she called out. No response as usual. She walked further into the bar. He didn't react to her at all. She stood behind him and tapped his shoulder. The only response she got at first was an aggravated groan. Future boy 2.0 wiped at his eyes quickly and reluctantly swiveled to face her. His face was blotchy, his eyes puffy and unfocused. The sight was enough for her to make her stop her crusade, momentarily. "Are you alright?"

"No. But I will be eventually." Ben replied.

Paige forgot all of her decorum and dragged up the empty stool and flopped herself upon it. Maybe it was her old self that used to be a Social Worker or her whitelighter half that couldn't ignore such turmoil. "You are not fine. Is there anything I could do?"

"You wouldn't happen to have advil on you would you?"

It was not the question she was expecting but nonetheless she began to rummage around her bag. She always kept a few on her. She handed him the two tablets and watched as gulped them down with the remainder of the water. Something shiny glimmering in the low lights of P3 caught her eye.

"Is that a wedding ring?"

"Fuck." Ben said in reply as he hastily tugged it off his finger and shoved it into the pocket of his worn jeans.

They hadn't ever seen him wearing a wedding ring before. Either she or her sisters would've seen it. Paige was too caught up in her own reverie of thoughts that she didn't see that he'd turned away from her. His shoulders were heaving and he was gripping his water glass so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. She reached forward to grab at his arm but his reaction was only to crush the glass until it shattered into countless bloody fragments on Piper's bar. Paige jumped up and away.

"Ben!" But before he could answer a fire sparked in his wake, singing the seat on the other side of him. Paige called out for the fire extinguisher as the sirens began to blare and the sprinkles began to pour water. Future Boy 2.0 stared at the fire with a haunted expression and then at his own hands, "you're a fire starter?"

"No. A pyrokinetic apparently, its an active power. Aunt Piper's going to kill me." Ben said staring at the scorch marks that remained on the floor in the fire's ferocious wake.

"Excuse me?" Paige asked. Did he say Aunt Piper? He couldn't have.

"It's a active power? You haven't heard of pyrokinesis? Wyatt can do it. Or rather he'll be able to do it as an extension of his projection power. Its rare for a witch."

Paige watched as he flexed his fingers and wiggled them. It had jarred him out of a catatonic state. He flicked his wrists in a similar manner that she'd seen Piper do thousands of times but no fire erupted. She still held onto the fire extinguisher just in case. Paige called out for the first aid kit and motioned for him to sit. His bloody hand was oozing a bit too much for her like but he seemed to mesmerized by his ability. She offered to call Leo but he refused saying it wasn't that bad.

"So its rare for a witch. But maybe it wouldn't be so rare for a half-demon." If she was wrong, she reasoned he'd deny it or wouldn't act upon the insinuation at all. It would all be an absurdity and she must make an appointment with the audiologist to get her hearing checked.

Ben flinched at the words. He turned to face her with such a guilty Phoebe expression sprawled across his face.

"You're Phoebe's son? You're little Victor?"

"If I said no would you believe that?"

"No."

"Dammit, now Chris and Aunt Piper are both going to kill me."

Paige was dumbfounded. She felt her head spinning as she stepped backwards and fumbled her way back onto a stool. Victor crossed the threshold between them and stared cautiously at her.

"Chris he's Phoebe's too? But that'd mean she'd have to get with a whitelighter."

Victor looked conflicted for a moment before letting out another, "fuck it. Chris is my cousin."

"That makes more sense because let's face it your Ma isn't going to be hooking up with any whitelighter anytime soon." Paige said watching as a scowl full of disgust crossed her nephew's face. "Guess that's a weird statement to be saying to your nephew."

"A lot of the stuff you guys have said has mentally scared me." Victor offered.

"We're in our twenties. I'm only four years older than you!"

" _Physically_ right now. But you don't hear me talking about…," he trailed off the topic veering dangerously towards something he wished to partially bring up but to also not bring up.

"Your wife?"

She regretted saying those words as the slight smirk fell off her nephew's face. She finished wrapping up his hand and decided to change topics, "does anyone else know about you and Chris?"

"Just Mom…I mean Phoebe. The vision at Magic School filled her in. And just to preface, it was all Chris' idea to not tell you the truth. I don't understand his whole mantra of future consequences when he's literally going to be changing everything by preventing the future of all Evil from doing all of the evil. There will be thousands of people who'll live that died..." Victor knew he was rambling. He did it whenever he was upset or frustrated or nervous. His family of the future would hear his rambling meant he was trying to avoid something and they'd confront him about it. Part of him wished this Paige would question him but she wouldn't know about that particular quirk yet. Right now he was a verbally delayed toddler who knew only a handful of words.

Paige didn't confront him. Her eyes grazed over his mother's belongings that had been left on the counter. "Where is your mother?"

Victor shrugged. "I woke up to this."

The phone at P3 began to ring then. Paige dashed around the edge of the bar and picked it up to Piper's voice screaming about a fire alarm going off at P3 and if one of those Perry boys set the place on fire.

"Piper I'm here. The club is mostly fine." Paige winced as she heard her sister react. "We'll cast a spell. Don't freak out Piper."

"I got it," her nephew said and repeated one of the spells he'd memorized since childhood. "Let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause the scene to be unseen." Brilliant white orbs surrounded the scorch marks and they faded into the normal color palette of P3.

"Personal gain," teased Paige.

"See not personal gain because Aunt Piper would freak and kill me. So I'd like to think it of it as self defense."

Before Paige could retort Chris orbed back into P3. Her younger nephew looked flustered and his eyes fell upon Victor.

"You're awake! Are you okay?"

"Where's Phoebe?" Paige interrupted as she noticed her sister didn't reappear with her nephew. But Chris was staring at Victor as if he was trying to analyze him. Victor wasn't meeting his eyes. _Odd_.

"She's at the manor. We uh have a genie issue." Chris informed.

"Alright let's go." Victor said thankful for the distraction.

Chris shuffled awkwardly, he opened his mouth and shut it a few times. His eyes flickered between their Aunt to Victor. Finally he settled on asking, "what about er uhm him? What if he…"

Paige whirled around to face him, arching an eyebrow questioningly. The name was news to her. "Is that code for the demon who took your body?"

Instead of answering, Victor deflected by flaming away to the conservatory of the manor. His mother sat on one of the sofas, glaring at the Genie who was flittering about the room. The genie's eyes fell upon him and narrowed suspiciously.

"Demon!" she accused looking to Phoebe to do something.

"No he's not," Phoebe said, "he's an apparently unbound _half-demon_. We unbind you in the future?"

His answer was cut off by the arrival of Chris, Paige and Leo. Paige who had taken his mother's work things unceremoniously dropped them onto the sofa beside his mother. His mother's attention was taken over by explaining to Leo what had happened. Victor took that moment to usher Chris over to the corner of the conservatory by the table.

"Paige knows." He uttered.

"What!" Chris' nostrils flared dangerously. He looked eerily like his mother when he got angry. He was symbolically explosive to Aunt Piper's literal. They used to joke all the time about how many things would blow up if Chris had inherited molecular combustion. It'd annoy Chris to no end and that was why he and Wyatt did it endlessly.

"She guessed it."

"You've been here for how long and are already letting huge things slip?"

"Something you boys want to share?" Leo's smug voice cut in. They whirled around.

"Nothing that concerns you Leo." Chris snapped.

"Is there a reason you didn't tell me that Ben here is your son or that Chris is Piper's?" Paige asked his mother as the Genie flipped through the book in search of the demon. As his Aunt voiced this, her clothing changed from daywear to evening attire with matching diamond earrings and a necklace to match.

"I was going to, Paige but it was all very new to me I was coming to terms with it and frankly I promised them I wouldn't say any-…His mother trailed off in her explanation as she caught sight of her sister, "did you do this?" she accused of the Genie.

"No but they're lovely. Who conjured them?"

"My boyfriend. He's been showering me with gifts all week."

As his mother and Aunt discussed once more the issues of Richard and his overuse of magic, Victor came to stand by the genie. He'd never met one before. He wasn't sure he wanted too. He'd heard too many cautionary tales, mainly from his mother. As Paige orbed out, Chris and Aunt Piper orbed in. She looked very annoyed at being interrupted. Not that he could blame her and not that'd he'd ever voice this to anyone, because A it was his Aunt's boyfriend, B he was married sort of, C the guy was about thirty years his senior but Greg the firemen was quite an attractive fellow, much more handsome than Uncle Leo or Derek. _Focus, Victor, focus_ , the rational voice inside of his head scolded. But the sad part of his head that wasn't letting himself come to terms with the confirmation of what he knew was inevitable was thankful for the distraction that came from his crazy family and their antics.

Victor's own wandering thoughts kept him from reacting quickly enough to the magic carpet that crashed throw the window. Or the demon atop it and for that he took a fireball to the chest and felt himself collapse to the ground. Through blurry vision he watched as his mother in vain threw a potion at the rider. He blocked it.

"Jenny I wish you free!" called out his mother.

Piper ran in then. "Chris!" she shouted.

His cousin obliged telekinetically retrieving the genie bottle from where it lay. Jenny jumped upon the flying carpet and flew out of sight from the direction Bosk came. Wincing, Victor forced himself up to his knees. Chris helped him the rest of the way up.

"Where's Phoebe?" Victor asked clutching at his singed arm.

In the ensuing hours, his mother had turned into a Genie. The Genie turned out to be demon. Chris had become his mother's master, which was weird and very creepy sounding and he'd made a wish to make Leo forgive him and for his parents to sleep together which had turned out to be very literal.

Victor was now watching his cousin break the fireman's heart by telekinetically shoving his parents closer together. It was oddly satisfying in a way. It was weird to see Aunt Piper with anyone else but Derek or Leo.

"And that's how you get rid of your not father," Chris informed him as he locked the door, "sorry Mom it's for the best."

"Right." Victor retorted.

They returned to the living room to find that Jenny had escaped. She was peering dangerously over the bodies of his Aunt and Uncle. Victor went to telekinetically move her, but instead the chair behind her caught fire. That was odd. Jenny smiled wickedly at him, "aren't you a cute little half-demon?" With a flick of her hands she had summoned his toddler self to her arms. Little Victor's face scrunched up at the person he didn't recognize. "I've heard about you. All of the demons were talking about the source's child. If you try that again I'll kill all three of you." She summoned another energy ball, this time it veered dangerously close to the tiny ringlets atop his head. "Bring me to the bottle. Not you, him," she pointed at Chris.

"Put my son down." Phoebe uttered.

Instead she threw a fireball. She and Paige ducked. It narrowly missed their heads. Her son began to wail. In the ensuing chaos, Jenny had managed to secure the bottle. She dropped the screaming toddler on the ground. The harsh sound he made when he collided with the wooden floor made Phoebe's heart seize up as his wails only increased in volume. She went to run to him, but Jenny's wish halted her.

"I wish the Charmed Ones dead."

Any movement she had ceased. She fell to the floor. She could hear Chris scream. Victor was starring up as her ghost form materialized beside Paige hovering above their lifeless bodies. Look away baby. Look away.

"No, no, no." The older version of her son said as he flamed in. His face had gone dangerously pale. She wasn't sure what was worst, Big Victor's expression or little Victor's wailing. "Chris what the hell! Now isn't their time!"

Phoebe felt herself floating downwards to her baby. She couldn't touch him but she could survey him for any sort of injuries. He looked physically unhurt. His wailing had now subsided into sniffling. She smiled reassuringly at him. To her nephew and the older version she said, "get him home."

Victor had never watched his mother die. Not in the way Chris had. He was sure she was truly dead in the future but there was conflicting reports of what Wyatt had done after he'd captured her and Aunt Paige. Victor didn't like to dwell on those reports. His hope was that Wyatt chose mercy and just gave them a peaceful death.

"I'm fine honey," Phoebe told him reassuringly rubbing his arm. He pulled her tightly into a hug. It was weird that she was so much smaller than he was now. He'd outgrown her when he was fourteen but back then he'd was a gangly diving board of all limbs and no meat on his bones. He hadn't reached his full height. It took her a minute to return the affection.

"This is cute and all," Chris interrupted, "but I'm about to disappear forever, vanish, cease to exist!"

His mother released him with a chuckle, "you're so dramatic Christopher, just like your. Piper. Leo."

The pair had woken up in an entanglement of limbs. They scrambled away from each other evidently embarrassed and confused by the position they had found themselves in. His mother informed that they had taken care of nearly everything.

"I still want to know why we didn't die." She caught his eye and shrugged her shoulders, "It's a very valid question."

"Oh, sure, you don't mind them knowing that they almost died but not that I'm their son." The words came tumbling out of Chris' mouth and a silence settled over them all in the sitting room. Victor watched as his cousin's face contorted into horror as he realized what he had just admitted. His eyes unwillingly turned to his Aunt and Leo whose faces both looked as if they were frozen and to his mother who was smiling unsurely.

"Uh what _excuse me_?" Piper voiced her brown eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Pandora's box had been unleashed. Figuratively speaking of course. One had to be precise when discussing what was going on in the manor. Piper and Leo were starring at Chris as if he were an alien. In a way Victor reasoned he kind of was. He was their future unborn child from twenty-two years into the future. The child neither of them probably thought they were ever going to have. He looked at his mother. She looked as if she too were struggling to figure out what to do or say. Chris looked as if he was debating fleeing. His face had paled considerably. Victor shuffled towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder to say _don't flee._

Leo recovered first. He looked to Chris and asked, "You're my son?"

Chris couldn't help but to retort to his father, "only biologically Leo."

Leo looked as if he wanted to say more but choose not to. Instead his eyes turned to Victor, "are you our son too?"

His mother answered, "No actually he's mine. This is future Victor."

The pride in her voice made him elated though he thought it was not at the right moment. He looked to his mother and smiled at her. He stopped when he saw Aunt Piper's expression. She looked as if she'd been frozen, save for her eye movements. Her silence was torture to Chris. They had a special bond in the future that may have partially stemmed for Leo's absence.

"Piper?" his mother said softly. She was trying to catch Piper's eye but failing. "Sweetie, please say something. You're scaring me."

The next words out of Piper's mouth were not the ones Victor expected. They did not address Chris at all. All Piper said was, "Wyatt. We have to pick up Wyatt. And Victor." She stood from the sofa and retrieved her coat and keys.

"Piper!" Leo called but his only answer was the slam of the doors.

"Let her go," Phoebe said, "the drive will help her think. Chris… She began but when she turned around to face him he was but a trail of disappearing orbs.

"Chris," Leo whispered.

"I wouldn't follow him Leo. I don't think you're the person he'd want to talk to," Victor told him and then he hastily added an apology.

Leo sunk back into the sofa looking much older than he had twenty minutes ago. He ran his fingers through his hair. Victor watched as his mother plopped down beside him. In that moment he was acutely aware that this Leo hadn't become a disappointment just yet. Victor was barely six when Wyatt was summoned to train in the heavens. Chris was four. They both lost a father from that moment forward. Victor had the ability though to distance it. Leo _wasn't_ really his father. He didn't have to spend time with him but Leo was Chris' actual father.

His mother made excuses for Leo for years. All of the sisters did. _He was busy. He'll be there next time_. But one too many missed occasions had turned her bitter against her former brother-in-law. Right now though Wyatt was not yet one and Leo was in good graces.

"How long have you know?"

"Since my vision quest." Phoebe admitted.

Leo raised an eyebrow. He was probably contemplating how Phoebe could have kept a secret for that long.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I promised them I wouldn't tell." Phoebe uttered softly. She was now patting his back comfortingly. When Leo looked at her she offered a big smile. "I'm glad you know now."

"My father was named Christopher." Leo mused his eyes had become glossed over. Leo's family was a bit of a mystery considering he was truly born in 1924 and was old enough to be their grandfather. Chris at one point had gotten really into genealogy. Their maternal line of course could be traced back to the Salem Witch Trials but Leo's was much shorter. Chris wasn't allowed to contact Leo's nieces and nephews because technically Wyatt and Chris weren't supposed to even be alive considering their father died in 1942. Victor was too afraid to look into his father's side. He knew for sure that his grandfather was named Benjamin, that's where his alias came from. And that Benjamin had married a demon named Elizabeth who'd later kill him. It was not exactly the fun family tree that would be presented in front of a class. Instead he had quite a bit of fun making his father's family tree up. "I haven't thought about him in years and Perry was my mother's maiden name." Leo buried his hands in his face. "How could we not see it when it was literally spelled out in front of us?"

"Leo he's your unborn child from the future. That's strange even by our standards. No one is blaming you for not recognizing him. I also didn't recognize my baby." Phoebe said gesturing towards where Victor stood. Victor knew she was trying to placate him. He also knew it wasn't working.

"I hit my own son. I threw him against a wall. I threatened his life." The words were a confession. Even his mother hesitated for a moment in patting his back. "He's my child."

"Leo I don't think we're the ones you should be telling this too." Phoebe said. "Chris is the one you should be telling this too. Can you sense him?"

"He's on the bridge."

"I don't think Leo should go Mom," Victor suggested. "Chris is going to want to be alone. And Leo's the last person he'd ever want to see." To his Uncle, he once again added an unsympathetic apology.

Paige appeared then looking worn. She'd been at Richard's house for the last two hours stripping his powers. She noticed immediately the absence of Piper and Chris and the bereaved look upon Leo's face.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Our nephew let slip his identity. And the father-to-be is coming to terms."

"She knew too?" Leo cried outraged.

"I only found out this morning from little Victor here," Paige replied holding up her hands in innocence. "Where's the momma to be?"

"Avoiding." Phoebe answered. "She went to get the other Victor and Wyatt. Her son is also avoiding. Speaking of which," she turned to Victor, "can you go check on him? Make sure he's not off getting himself into trouble."

The babies were asleep in the back of her Jeep. Piper kept sparing glances at them in the rearview mirror. She had texted Phoebe that she was going for a ride and had shut her phone off. She had never quite felt so many emotions at once. Angry, overwhelmed, scared. The list went on and on. The man who had so violently intruded on their lives was her son. The man who had been crucial in Leo's abrupt promotion and who brought a message that had completely rocked her world was her son. Everything about him screamed it. Why would a random person come back to save Wyatt? How had she not even contemplated the idea that he was family. Had she not wanted to see it?

 _Piper…it's Phoebe again. Please call me back. I'd love to hear your voice_. Phoebe's voicemail echoed through the silent car. How could Phoebe not tell her immediately? How could he go masquerading around like this? How could he bear to take all of the abuse from them? From his family without saying a word?

She pulled the car over. She hadn't meant to drive to the beach. It kind of just was a spot she liked to think. It had been Prue's spot first. She propped herself up on the hood of the car and called for her son. She hadn't quite been able to get his shell-shocked expression out of her face.

"Chris," she whispered at first. "Chris, please. I need- I _want_ to talk to you." When no orbs materialized she felt tears spring to her eyes. "Chris," she tried again. No orbs. "Christopher, _please_." She waited. No orbs. She was alone on the side of the highway overlooking the bay. She then whispered, "Leo."

 _Haven't you noticed he's the first person you call in your time of need_? Her son's voice echoed in her head. He was trying to be subtle. She thought he was just being annoying. He'd interrupted her date, _again_. Now she knew the reason for his childish and impatient reaction. Leo orbed in beside her. His sympathetic expression was enough to make the tears fall.

"He's our son." She sobbed over and over again letting herself fall into his outstretched arms. "He's Wyatt's brother. Our little boy."

Phoebe was pacing the length of her bedroom when her adult son flamed in with his younger self and Wyatt. Victor informed her that Chris was back at the club and that Piper and Leo had wanted to talk.

"We unbind you in the future?" Phoebe asked.

Victor bit on his lip, "no. It's a long story. Can we leave it at that and get these guys to bed?"

Phoebe took her baby and walked towards the nursery. She laid little Victor on one of the changing tables and Victor walked to the other. Her son seemed to have natural talent with babies. He gently cooed to Wyatt as he changed his diaper and eased his wildly moving limbs into the ducky pj's. He then picked up Wyatt and gently began to rock him.

"What?" he asked.

She hadn't realized she'd been staring. "It's just you're really good with him."

"Yeah," he uttered. Tears were forming and though he tried to turn from her, Phoebe had seen them. It was then that she was hit with an overwhelming amount of sadness and guilt. It overwhelmed her. She quickly placed Victor safely onto the floor before gripping onto his crib to stop herself from fainting with the amount of grief she'd been bombarded with.

"Mom?"

It took her a few moments to regain her footing. The room seemed to be spinning. When it stopped she stood, breathing heavily. "Victor did you-are you a father?"

That set him off. His face contorted and tears began to stream down his face. His little girl was dead. He was not sure why at this moment that he was beginning to truly contemplate what that had meant. Had Grace suffered? Had she died thinking he left her? He'd been trying to placate those questions with the fact that if the future was changed her parents would never have been killed and she'd live a happy and healthy life. It was not enough.

"Her name is-was." The past tense made him grit his teeth, "Grace."

"Grace what a beautiful name." His mother repeated eliciting more tears from him. It was the first time he'd ever heard his mother say her name. They told Grace so many stories about her. Grace had decided to call her Grams. "She was almost two when we adopted her."

"We?" his mother pried.

He could not tell her. Not like this. Not now when he felt as if he'd implode any moment. He found relief in sitting in the ancient rocking chair that had rocked many Halliwells. He gripped so harshly at the arms rests his knuckles were white.

"I kept telling myself, that when we change the future she'll have a much better life. Her parents won't be slain by demons. But then she'd never be ours." He hadn't let himself admit that. She had been the shinning light in the underworld as they dodged demons and bounty hunters. She was the reason he kept going. He loved Matthew with all of his being but he was sure without Grace they wouldn't have had the motivation to try and live the life they lived in spite of everything. Could he live without ever meeting or loving his little Butterfly? Could he live never being called Papa? Or without those nights they'd all cuddle up together beneath a quilt and tell fairy tales. She'd wiggle her little body in-between theirs and he and Matthew would wrap their legs around each other, cocooning their daughter in their embrace. It was one of the happiest moments of his life.

"Oh honey," Phoebe whispered wrapping her arms around him and rubbing circles around his back. The way he melted into her embrace as if he'd been devoid of touch broke her heart. "It'll be okay. It'll be okay." She had no idea if that was true. This is the way she'd comfort her toddler. "why don't we shuffle out of the nursery?" he nodded into her shoulder and allowed her to led him out of the nursery. "Victor look at me, Victor Patrick look at me." When he did, she took note of his reddened face and his bloodshot puffy eyes. She wanted nothing more than to have that disappear but it would not be as simple as a feeding or tickle to garner the same reaction, "We will save Wyatt and Grace."

"Promise?"

"I promise." She cupped his face, "why don't we get you to bed? You can sleep in my bed. I'll bunk with Paige."

"I don't-

"I would like you to. Please."

She led him to the edge of the bed before disappearing up the stairs. His mother returned a few moments later with some of Leo's leftover clothes. She directed him to her walk in closet. He obeyed. Leo's clothes were a bit tight on him but would do for a night. The shattered picture of his parents caught his eye. She looked so hopelessly in love. His father looked human. This was before.

"Vic…," his mother began but cut off. Her short gasp of breath meant she hadn't expected him to stumble across this picture.

"I didn't mean to pry."

"It's alright. Your Aunt Prue took that photograph. You know I regret nothing right? Because Cole gave me you."

He had heard those words before. Magic School kids were just as cruel as mortal children. He'd been ten the first time he came home crying about his abusive father. They'd been learning about upper level demons in school. How could his mother ever love someone like that? And she told him, a kid friendly version, and then she told him that he was worth it all.

"You told me that when I was kid," Victor admitted, "I never knew how true it was until Grace."

Phoebe waited to see if the tears would return but he only sniffed and gently placed the photo back on the dresser where it'd been obscured by her hanging necklaces. She-rather Paige had stored away all of the other mementos from her relationship with Cole. Phoebe was surprised Paige just didn't burn them but her baby sister surprised her when she explained that one day Victor will be old enough to ask questions and that he may want to look at them one day. For some reason Phoebe couldn't explain to herself she took this photo out of his spot at the bottom of the boxes.

Victor was asleep before she could tuck him in. She tucked him in anyway and placed a gentle kiss to his temple. She gathered her pj's from her top drawer and walked towards Paige's room. Her heart felt so heavy as she gave one last fleeting glare at his sleeping form. He looked so much younger.

Paige was awake. She was painting but it seemed she was just stroking the page.

"We have to change their future." Phoebe told Paige. "I had a granddaughter."

"Oh honey," Paige cooed. "we are going to change it. They, Wyatt, Victor, Chris and your granddaughter are going to live long and happy lives."

Piper was not sure if it was mother's intuition that had made her force Leo to orb them to the bridge or not but she was glad she insisted. They found Chris sleeping against the pillar; his jacket was strewn across his chest. It was not warm enough for the wintry January night. She walked towards him and knelt beside him. Screw the consequences she thought as she reached for him. The warmth radiating from his body made her jump.

"Leo he's burning up." Piper informed. Leo's hesitation absolved then too. He joined her at their son's side. His healing hands immediately illuminated over his body. _Of course he's burning up_ , Piper thought, _he never eats and he's obsessed with saving his brother_. "why isn't it working?"

"I don't know. He's only half-whitelighter. He's bound to sick and if it's from stress I can't heal stress."

"Let's get him home."

"Don't you think it'll freak him out if he wakes up in the manor?"

"I don't care. He's _my son_." She seethed. Leo knew better than to question that. He placed a tender hand on Chris' shoulder and Piper took his other outstretched hand. He had always admired her strength but even now he admired it more. Her protectiveness of their son-sons was something that made his love for her increase tenfold.

Leo helped her get him under the covers and removed his shoes. He barely stirred. Piper made it a point that she'd be checking hourly on him to make sure he was alright. The moment she emerged from her room she caught sight of noisy sisters peeking their heads out from Paige's room.

"How could you not tell me?" Piper asked Phoebe.

"I am sorry Piper. They made me promise. I did not want to break their trust."

"I think this might have warranted it!" Piper argued.

Victor woke to darkness, cocooned in his mother's quilts. He blinked in the darkness and was startled by the silhouette of a figure sitting on the edge of his bed. Telekinetically he flipped on the switch, blinding himself in the process, to find Matthew sitting at the edge of his bed. His partner said nothing but Victor still felt himself clench up getting ready to prepare himself for a fight if need be.

Matthew could be pensive. He would lose himself in a deep reverie of his own thoughts. Victor used to always prompt, _penny for your thoughts_ and Matthew would talk but Victor was always under the impression that there were some he kept so close to his chest.

"Vic." He uttered.

"Matt?" Victor answered. It was then that he noticed the haggard laboring breaths escaping his husband's mouth and the way Matthew's hand set atop his stomach. His partner had also suspiciously positioned himself where his face was hidden from him. "Look at me."

There was no response. Victor clamored out of the sheets to kneel beside him. Matthew's face was a horror show. Victor bit on his lip to keep from gasping out. His left eye was swollen shut, his lip cracked and blood oozing from a cut atop his skull. Matthew's good eye briefly flickered in his direction and his lips tugged into a half smirk.

"I've come to warn you."

"Warn me?"

Matthew leaned forward pressing his swollen lips to Victor's own. He was too startled at first to react but when he felt Matthew's tongue he pushed him away. His husband grunted in pain. His movements exposed the bloodied t-shirt that a jacket had obscured. Victor pushed his shoulder to the bed and gingerly opened the rest of the jacket.

"Oh?" Matthew teased as Victor tried to pry the hem of his t-shirt upward to examine the wounds for himself.

"Stop that you damn masochist!"

Matthew had always been rough around the edges. When he came to live with them at the manor and got transferred to their high school he started so many fights despite the fact that he was one of the smallest in the freshmen class. Victor theorized he wanted to test the limits of his anger before he turned into a beast. Uncle Derek worried endlessly about it. Victor could remember hearing him and Aunt Piper discussing binding his powers just before they died.

"I'm going to-

"Don't you dare!" Matthew cried. "I'm fine. You can patch me up like you used too. You were always such a good nurse."

Victor wanted to argue that it was because that was their only choice. That they were stranded in the underworld and in their future all of the whitelighters had been slaughtered. The look of desperation on Matthew's face was the only thing that halted his remark. The door to his bedroom flew open then, followed by his mother and Aunts. Victor felt his heart plummet. What could this possibly look like? Him alone with Matthew bloodied strewn across the sheets on his backside?

"Chrissy!" Matthew chirped ignoring the arrival of the sisters upon seeing his stepbrother in the archway. Victor caught Chris' eye silently begging _please don't say anything_. He knew Chris wouldn't. Matthew on the other hand was swatting away his hands as Victor tried to pull him up.

"Who bloodied your face? I'd like to send them flowers." Chris retorted.

"Is this another future relative?" Paige asked.

"Oh so they know?" Matthew questioned, "but you didn't mention me?"

The sisters' eyes fell to him now. Each were critically examining his bloodied face no doubt searching for some resemblance to tell them whose child he was. Victor tried to not react to the hurt in his voice. When they found each other in the underworld and started asking each other questions, Victor had found out that Matthew had told Uncle Derek about his orientation shortly before Derek had died. Victor admitted he hadn't told any of his family but wished he had when he had the chance. Never did he think he actually would.

"Matt," Victor began but knew he had no words that could efficiently explain anything at all. Matt licked his lips and sat upward, shaking his head.

"Will one of you cut the cryptic crap for once and just tell us who the hell he is?" Piper questioned.

"Oh I've missed you Piper," Matthew said staring at his stepmother and the only mother figure he'd ever known. They had always gotten along. Of Piper and Derek's combined sons, Matthew had been the most excited about their marriage. Wyatt, Chris and Piper had a trifecta of their own going on. Their bond was strong and Wyatt especially loathed him.


	10. Chapter 10

"So you're mine?" Piper asked in disblief. A hand stretched out over her chest. Phoebe shuffled in, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her face was losing color by the moment.

Matthew took pity. He said, "er-not biologically." Piper looked confounded and Chris chose that moment to interrupt with his usual mantra, _future consequences_. His mother opened her mouth to retort but closed it. It seemed her discovering the truth of their relationship made her hesitant.

Matthew lunging to his knees, gripping at his head and grimacing in pain, interrupted the silence that had settled over Phoebe's bedroom. Victor knelt beside him and kept trying to ask where it hurt. But Matthew kept clutching at his ears looking as if he wanted to tear them off. He removed them moments later, starring at them all with watery eyes before shimmering away.

"Did he just _shimmer_?" Piper cried looking wildly from her sisters, to her son and to her nephew.

"I guess we have another part demon in the house." Paige uttered shrugging. She was dead tired, from the day's events and from breaking up with her boyfriend of a few months.

 _ **Charmed**_

"I can't explain it Leo," Piper whispered some hours later. They had taken refuge in their-her bedroom. Victor was still searching for Matthew, but that was the last of her worries. Her thoughts all remained on her second child. "I feel love for him even though a few hours ago I wouldn't have cared if he left and never came back."

Leo furrowed his brow, "I don't think that's entirely true Piper." His own guilt had been bearing down on him. He felt odd in the space that used to be his. Piper was sitting upon the edge of her bed and part of him wanted to join her, but instead he was pacing the perimeter of the room. "I threatened to have his soul recycled tonight. And that doesn't even-

"Leo you didn't know."

"Yeah and you didn't know either and still you feel guilty too."

Piper didn't look up at him. Instead her fingers spin the empty glass of water. She stared the opaque glass. "Do you think he'll ever forgive us?"

"He'll forgive you," Leo assured, "you didn't write him letters." His mind had been mulling over all of the things Chris had said. _From my father, he wasn't around much_. Chris' father was no longer a faceless entity. Leo was the faceless entity. "He told me tonight that his father wasn't around much when he was growing up. That I'd send letters instead."

Piper could not mask her shock nor her anger. She had a father who wasn't around and though he was around now, the anger still remained. All of those years he wasn't there to heal the hurts. He choose to make them truly orphans. To think her sons would have the same made her want to implode. Bitterly she said, "you can change that."

"I need to resign from becoming an Elder." It was a prospect that had been formulating inside of his head for a while.

"Can you do that?"

"No. Well it's never been done before. Unless they died."

"Well you can't die until we conceive Chris." Piper felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She hadn't told Leo about that just yet. Phoebe had informed her that the window for Chris to be conceived was from tonight until Wyatt's upcoming first birthday. It was one of the most awkward conversations she ever had. That feeling was especially compounded upon when Phoebe admitted that Chris was the one who had to calculate those dates. "we have to do that soon." She was not meeting those blue green eyes. She was still dating Greg. _Greg_. She'd forgotten all about him and their date. That would be a complication she would have to deal with later in the morning. "but not tonight Leo."

"Right. Goodnight Piper."

 _ **Charmed**_

Paige found her elder nephew asleep in the attic. His head was resting on a map of San Francisco. In his fingers was a scrying crystal. He'd told them that Matthew had been trying to warn them about something before they interrupted. It was evident how scared her nephew was for his undefined family member. She dug her phone out of her jean pocket, unable to resist, and snapped a photo. The sound it made stirred him awake. He made a bunch of incoherent noises, wiping at his mouth before relaxing.

"Very funny Aunt Paige." He said noting her phone and position. "Look at that dinosaur. That picture's got to be awful."

"I'll have you know this is the brand new _Lg Retrospect_." It was then that she realized she was arguing with a boy from the future. "Well played nephew. Any such luck?"

"No. He's stayed off the radar. He's powerful but I'm still worried."

"Has it crossed your mind that maybe he's playing a trick? You said he was sent by Wyatt."

"I was sent by Wyatt too."

"Right." Paige said. She had forgotten all of her earlier suspicion when it was confirmed he was Phoebe's boy. The little nephew she'd rocked to sleep and whose diapers she changed. She was still not quite sure who Matthew was. She was beginning to think maybe he was Piper's adopted son. "are we dead in the future? Is that why none of us came back?"

Victor took that moment to dig the crystal into his finger. His eyes became glossed over. Paige regretted voicing the question. She knew they must be, otherwise it'd be her or Piper or Phoebe trying to save Wyatt instead of Chris or Victor.

"What makes you sure that a demon turned Wyatt?" Victor's brilliant blue eyes flashed to her. Paige felt horrible for even voicing the question, "and it's not just him being corrupted. As someone famous once said, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

"Because it wasn't in his nature. I can't explain it. He wasn't always evil or misguided. There were events that seemed to trigger it within him. Everything about his demeanor changed. And he was loved throughout our childhood. So I mean nurture's out and nature, he's half angel, like you and Chris."

"Right. Did I actually get killed by the Titans or did Chris make that up?"

Victor laughed and shook his head, "no but you were frozen for about a year and a half. Mom and Aunt Piper had quite a bit of fun telling others where you went for those eighteen months. You came out of the stone right before Chris was born."

"Damn." Paige whispered, "Did you try the _Call for a Lost Witch_ spell?"

"He's not a witch but maybe Mom can modify it. Is she awake yet?"

"She should be."

 _ **Charmed**_

Instead of letting himself wallow in his identity being revealed, Chris was sketching out some more suspects. He was leaning out over the notes he'd taken from the book. His chicken scratch was hard to decipher at times and though he longed to be with the Book, he did not want to see any of his relatives. His mind kept going back to whatever warning Matthew might've had.

Matthew and Wyatt had never exactly been each other's greatest friend. Chris' own reservation came from Derek marrying his mom. Piper had been through enough and when Chris saw how much they loved each other he found himself warming to the idea of another brother. But by that time, Matthew and Victor were nearly inseparable and then everything went to hell and it didn't matter about relationships.

Was it Piper he didn't want to see more or Leo? Piper was going to act like _mom_ now. They'd been two distinct people in his mind. Piper was not the person who tucked him in or loved him no matter what. Mom was. Mom was the one he lost. Piper was younger than she was. More bitter.

At least his conception was for sure now. That part of worry had subsided from within him. Back to Wyatt, his mind chided him, back to Wyatt.


	11. Chapter 11

**M** atthew had taken solace in his old home. The apartment on the outskirts of San Francisco looked nearly the same from his memories. There was a baby toy or two he didn't quite remember but everything else about it was so distinctive. The smell, the sights, everything was quite visceral. It had an effect upon him, that grounded him so that he did not shimmer away when his father entered the room and demanded who he was.

"It's me Papa," he whispered using the name for his father he hadn't used since he was a little boy. It was the same epitaph that his daughter used to call him. He wouldn't allow himself to think of her, "tis me Mattie. Your Mattie." When his father only narrowed his eyes, he elaborated, "You met my mother, a manticore through your work as a part time painter. She was in disguise. But she was charming and nice. She got pregnant. You weren't supposed to care but you did. Your mother was a witch practioner so you knew about some potions and you turned yourself into a monster to find me. And the Halliwells helped you find me, Matthew James Benedicks. You were the one person who always believed in me no matter what, can you still believe in me?"

Derek hesitantly lowered the dagger he'd been carrying. The man in front of him had the manticore's human eyes. The ones that had charmed him and there was something inside of him that made him believe that this was his boy.

"I've done some very bad things Papa." The words come out in a childish whimper and tears accompanied them.

 **Charmed**

The manor had been decorated for Wyatt's first birthday. Streamers hung in the hallways and balloons and banners. Party guests were due to arrive in near half an hour and Piper was attempting to muster the strength to be excited in spite of it all. It'd been nearly a week since she'd discovered that Chris was her son and a week since she'd last seen him. He'd been careful to let himself by seen by her sisters but he would not answer her calls. She and Leo had been fervently trying to conceive him. Tonight was the deadline and she'd like to know if they had succeeded for his sake. She'd taken his silence as an assurance for now.

"Look how cute." Phoebe cooed. She was marching down the steps with Victor and Wyatt resting on her hips. The boys were dressed in matching overall outfits that had pins attached to them. Each pin foretold that they were the birthday boys. She and Phoebe had decided a joint party at the manor would be a lot easier than two separate parties. Little Victor and Wyatt did not look quite pleased at their outfit choices, but Piper couldn't help but to break into a smile.

"Hi there Bubba." Piper whispered when Wyatt was securely in her arms. She placed sweet kisses to his blonde hair, musing once again, how different her sons were. Wyatt nestled his head into her and she felt herself melting at the embrace. "Ready to celebrate your birthday?"

"Are you ready?" Phoebe whispered rocking back and forth with Victor on her hip. The dark haired Halliwell boy was sucking on his fingers. By the looks of it, it seemed he found them quite tasty.

"No but we wanted to give them normal lives." It was something they had both been adamant about during their pregnancies. Piper remembered them fondly sitting on the sofas in the conservatory rubbing their bellies as they discussed their hopes and dreams for the boys growing inside of them. The hand not holding Wyatt, stroked at her stomach. Was the fetus version of Chris already growing inside of her? She had resolved to take a pregnancy test in a few days time.

Her future nephew came down the stairs then. He gave a cursory glare at the decorations, looked confounded for a moment than seemed to realize what it was for. He had been searching fervently for the mysterious Matthew. Her sort of son or something. Neither of the future boys bothered to elaborate on what Matthew had meant. Piper watched with envy as Victor let his mother fret over him.

"When was the last time you ate?" Phoebe questioned eyeing the way the t-shirt hung on Victor's frame. He was looking much thinner and paler. "Victor Patrick! Please tell me you are not starving yourself."

"I've been snacking!" he cried in defense.

"Snacking is not a meal." Piper intervened leveling her nephew with a glare. If she could not force-fed her own child, she would make damn sure her nephew would not starve. "Come with me." She deposited Wyatt into his father's arms and when Victor did not immediately follow, she glared at him. He graveled underneath it and began to follow her into the kitchen where she set about making him a grilled cheese sandwhich.

Victor impressively swallowed the sandwhich in about three bites and two gulps of milk. He wiped his milk mustache with his sleeve.

"Thanks Aunt Piper."

"Why aren't you avoiding your mother?" Piper asked fiddling with a napkin.

"Do you mean why is Chris avoiding you?" Damn. He was too perceptive, just like his mother. Victor pushed the chair back and brought the dish to the sink where he promptly began to scrub away at the caked on cheese. "I can't tell you Aunt Piper. It's none of my business. As for why I'm not avoiding my mother," his voice hitched for a moment, "I had a daughter in the future. If she came back and started to avoid me, it would break me. I won't-I can't put my mother through that," Victor knew his words were not helping the case any. This Piper did not know their future; she died right before it went to literal shit. "Look we've been through a lot. Chris especially." Victor knew he was edging on cryptic and that would piss her off but instead she looked pensive for a moment.

"So, his avoiding me has nothing to do with what I said and did before I knew?" Piper's voice was heartbreakingly hopeful.

"I don't know what you said or did. Chris never told me. But I think his reasons for avoiding you stem from what happened in the future." Those words sounded too harsh. But he couldn't tell her that she died young. Chris knew for certain his mother was dead. Victor had assumed his mother was too, but Phoebe had disappeared. He had spent years searching for her. He was not sure what was worse watching one's mother die or just not knowing. "He loves you."

Piper blinked at him, incomprehensively.

"And for what its worth, I love you too. Thanks for feeding me."

 _ **Charmed**_

Derek arrives late, with a fussy Matthew in his arms and a ton of apologies. Piper cuts him off. They're parents, of very magical children and sometimes that makes you late. If anyone understands it's her and Phoebe. He smiles shyly at her and despite it she can see how tired he really is. The bags underneath his eyes are yellowed and purple. He stands with Phoebe and Piper, on the fringes of the party and it's easy to tell he too worries what his half-manticore son will do.

There's something else he wants to tell her, but at every time he opens his mouth something interrupts them. Sometimes it's the kids; other times it's freezing the room to hide the magical antics of the children or her ex Leo who hovers. Piper makes a note in her head to ask him once the chaos subsides but the thought is lost when her nephew bounds down the stairs and calls his mother aside. The other guests stare at him curiously and Paige quickly explains that he's a cousin from out of town. Phoebe glances between the party and her adult son; Piper can see the indecisiveness etched in her face.

"Is that one of my future grandsons?" her father whispered.

"Yes Dad. That's little big Victor." The contradiction comes stumbling out of her mouth awkwardly. Her eyes were focused on Phoebe and Victor as she tried to read her nephew's lips. A skill she did not have. She did not like the way he dashed up the stairs and the way that Phoebe was wringing her hands and glancing at the grandfather clock.

"Pheebs! He looks just like you." Victor gushed. Phoebe was taken off guard but managed a sweet smile that showed all of her molars.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing Piper! Nothing!" Phoebe uttered as she turned to the congregation of loud toddlers. "I think its time for cake!"

Piper wanted nothing more at that moment than to stalk upstairs to confront her nephew but knew she was needed to freeze the room. She stubbornly remained put, keeping a careful watch on the magical toddlers as Phoebe and Leo appeared with the cakes she'd made.

Her father was in a frenzy snapping away at pictures. Piper hoped she didn't look distracted. Victor and Wyatt for their parts were content with getting most of their cakes on their little faces. Their overalls were covered in bits of frosting but it was too cute to let herself fret about it, for now.

Phoebe was trying not to rush things. But Victor, big Victor needed her and so did little Victor. And Chris. Victor was talking about darklighters collaborating and a tip off that he received. She found Paige, as the party was wrapping up, "Watch for Leo and Wyatt." She told her, before heading to the attic.

When she arrived in the attic, Victor was attempting to cast the _Call for A Lost Witch Spell_ and scrying. His pointer fingers were bloody and he was in frenzy. He had dragged out an ancient globe from god knows where and was using his telekinesis to spin it. If it were not such a dire situation, Phoebe would have laughed at the sight. Instead she marched forward, halting him from spilling any more blood and wordlessly took the scrying crystal from his shaking hands.

"I can't find him." Victor admitted. "What if he's dead?"

"What if whose dead?" Piper questioned. She stood in the doorway of the attic, arms folded across her chest.

"Piper-

"Don't Piper me! I'm tired of the damn secret keeping! So what the hell is going on?"

"Chris. We-I can't find him." Victor mumbled.

"And you wait until now to tell me?" Piper could feel the fury radiating inside of her and without flicking her wrists, or even directing it, a pillow on Aunt Pearl's sofa blow to smithereens. The feathers fluttered around the attic and settled near Victor's feet. He shuffled away from them. "LEO! PAIGE!"

The Elder appeared moments later. He knew better than to ignore his ex-wife when she shouted like that.

"Chris. Can you sense him?"

Immediately Leo closed his eyes. Piper watched as he concentrated and then became concerned. It was not the conclusion she wanted.

"No. But it doesn't mean he's-

"What? Dead? Faded from existence? Because we have tried everyday this week! Multiple times!"

"Ew." Came from Victor.

 _ **Charmed**_

"Hello?" Chris called out. He had deduced he was in a different realm, a realm where everything was a subdued grey and too eerily quiet. It looked like San Francisco, just without cars or people. He was not sure if that was something to be comforted by or concerned about. He was most certainly concerned about what kind of darklighter had the power to send him to a different dimension or what had sent the darklighter. A quick test of his powers revealed that they weren't working. None of this was boding well.

Home was a good four miles away. There were no cars in sight and without the ability to orb his only option was to walk. It would not be the first time he walked home from the park, he knew the way but still his senses were on high alert. He picked up anything he could use as a weapon, rocks and sticks. He hoped that anything else in here had its powers inhibited too.

The manor was devoid when he entered it. No furniture and no family. Years of survival instincts kicked in then. _Stay away from the line of sight_. He climbed the stairs to the attic, careful to dart by windows and to make the least amount of noise. When he entered the attic he found he was indeed not alone. The man in the attic looked like Victor, but he was older with harder features and slight stubble.

"Cole?"

The man turned to him and nodded. Chris remembered then the stones that he had compiled in his pockets and began to throw them at the former source.

Cole avoided the majority of them before holding up his hands and uttering, "you are _so_ like Piper. But I'm on your side, kid."

"Oh really?" Chris deadpanned. "Tell me, Uncle, where are we?"

Cole regarded him with a half-smile. His blue eyes so like Victor's were gazing upon the attic. "Where do you think we are Christopher?"

Chris recoiled at the usage of his full name and the amount of comfort Cole had around him. It took him a moment to realize that Cole was indeed serious and expecting an answer, "we're in a different realm and you can access it. Is there anyone else here?"

"Only temporarily."

A temporary place. Chris was recalling now his sixth grade class that covered the different realms. Which one of them had been a temporary holding ground? Not the astral plane, but no he couldn't be on the Ghostly Plane. "This is the Ghostly Plane? But how? I'm not dead. The darklighter didn't shoot me."

"You're not dead."


	12. Chapter 12

**C** hris was pacing around the area where the stand for the Book of Shadows should be. He was not dead. Just trapped in the ghostly plane without any sort of way to contact any of his family. He was screwed. And to top it off, the former source was his only company.

"What's my son like?"

"First off, his name is Victor. And why the hell am I even bothering talking to you?"

Cole ignored the latter half of his statement. He kept muttering Victor as if testing it out. Chris pinched his temples. If only he had his powers.

"Do spells work here?" His question was answered by a shake of the head. Great. Just great, Chris thought.

 _ **Charmed**_

"So what exactly was your tip off?" Paige questioned again though Victor had told it about half a million times in the ensuing three hours since they couldn't find Chris. He glared at her. "Right. Sorry."

"Paige, maybe you should go up there too. If they're after-

"No. My nephew's missing. I'm a Charmed One."

"Whose also half-whitelighter. I think between Piper, me and Victor we have enough fire power." Phoebe halted her argument when she saw the stubborn jaw set in her baby sister. Paige was going to stay where she was; nothing was going to change her mind. Stubbornness was most certainly a Halliwell trait.

Piper was lighting the candles. She stood once they were light and came to the book where she began to chant the spell to call a spirit. Penny Halliwell materialized in the attic and looked very startled to be summoned.

"I need you to see if someone is there." Piper said. "Chris."

"The new whitelighter? What?"

"He's my son," Piper seethed. "Is he in the afterlife with you?"

Grams opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. Her questions could be answered later. She disappeared in golden orbs. She returned moments later with a forlorn grimace across her features. Phoebe shuffled towards Piper placing a comforting hand on her shoulder when a premonition began tearing her away from the scenario of the attic and to the alleyway behind P3. It was dark out and Chris was returning. He was fumbling with his keys to the backroom of P3 when a darklighter materialized behind him. Oddly enough, it did not summon its crossbow. Chris turned pinning the darklighter into the brick wall. The darklighter exploded but the explosion engulfed Chris too and both were gone.

"Phoebe?" Piper called out the moment Phoebe's eyes reopened again. Her sister recited her vision causing confused looks to spread across everyone else's faces.

"Darklighters don't do that," Grams said.

"Just poof Phoebe? Poof?" came from Piper.

"At least Chris isn't dead!"

"Realms." Paige whispered. "What if the explosion took them to another realm? Or plane? Like my sneezing and orbing did. It would explain why we can't sense him and why he's not in the afterlife."

"That could be it. But there's eleven planes and numerous realms." Victor said reciting from memory. One of the last classes he took at magic school dealt with planes. "We can't just start realm or plane hopping. It could mess with the natural order of things." Piper glared at him, "but we know he's alive. Maybe we should start with scrying for the darklighter?"

Derek arrived in the attic then. He stood in the archway and cleared his throat. Piper was the first to acknowledge him by kindly beginning to dismiss him from the attic. He was a mortal and after all, this was a magical problem.

"I-I-…," Derek began, "I don't know how to explain this…or if he was even really who he said he was. Or if he was telling the truth, but I heard you talking about darklighters and realms…" The lines in his forehead were becoming more evident as he rambled on about topics he had no true notions of, "but it was Matthew. My Matthew, an adult future version of himself came to me and confessed that he'd been organizing darklighters for some sort of attack. And is that even possible? Time travel?"

"That's the future version of my son Victor." Phoebe provided.

"Wait," Piper said who was processing more of what he had said, "Matthew, the one we saw the other night is the half-manticore baby?"

Victor sensed were she was going with this. If Matthew was Derek's son, then how could he also be Piper's? That'd open up a whole can of worms. _Oh yeah, Derek's your second husband_. That would bode well. "Did he say anything else?"

 _ **Charmed**_

Establishing a telepathic link was a challenging task, especially if one of the links was not in themselves telepathic and if one of the links was some twenty odd years into the future. It left a lingering migraine, but Matthew knew he could not ignore Wyatt's calls and thus resigned himself to the pain. He'd laid himself out on the spare guest bed and pinched at his temples as Wyatt's voice began in his head once more.

When the link was established, Matthew informed that Chris was currently trapped in the Ghostly Plane. His Lordship who had a death count Matthew didn't even want to fathom could not harm his brother. Putting Chris there, Wyatt said was to punish him. Matthew suspected it was more of a safeguard but he knew better than to think it. The plane Wyatt had chosen would render Chris powerless but it would also keep him safe. Wyatt was at least still somewhat logical.

The brilliant light of orbs materializing cut off his pondering and telekinetic-link. Before he could shimmer away he felt himself being propelled into the wall. The Charmed Ones, Victor and Leo were standing there poised at the ready to stop him.

"Where the hell did you send my son? And so help me I'll blow you up if you lie."

He struggled against Victor's hold. He'd broken out of other witches telekinetic holds but Victor was a Halliwell and part upper level demon, his attempts were futile. _Tyrek_ , _Zar_ , _Marek_ he called out in his head. The darklighters appeared in tandem in the corners of the room. Their appearance had caught them off guard. They shoot immediately at Leo and Paige. Piper froze the arrow before it hit her husband. Paige fell, paralyzed by the poison that was coursing through her veins. Victor released him to fight. Matthew began to screech. The sound was amplified in the tiny room and all of the witches in the room immediately cowered covering their ears.

Piper and Leo were cowering together when Tyrek's potion hit them. They disappeared in an angry grey cloud of smoke that left behind black marks. That was not supposed to have happened.

The screaming stopped though Phoebe could still hear it echoing in her ears. She opened her eyes. Matthew and the others were gone and so were Piper and Leo. Paige laid on the floor looing paler than usual and whimpering.

"Paige," she whispered clamoring to her sister's side. "GIDEON!" she bellowed. Her son looked shell-shocked but there was no time for that. "Victor I need you to telekinetically remove this arrow now."

 _ **Charmed**_

"So far you've tried orbing, telekinesis, spell casting and now glamoring," Cole listed off, "even though I explicitly told you that this realm renders you powerless."

"I had to be sure." Chris retorted. His glower reminded Cole of Piper's, though it was around the eyes that he looked like Leo. He _paced_ like Leo. The pacing, Cole realized, was just as annoying as it used to be. "did you do this? Did you send me here?"

Cole could feel his rage boiling. How many different ways did he have to explain that he was powerless before the boy would realize none of this was his fault. Their silent staring contest was interrupted by a loud clamor from downstairs. They each began to head towards the stairs to listen. Could the darklighters be back?

The voices were hard to hear leading Chris and Cole to descend the stairs and using the wall for cover. The stairs, the faithful old stairs still creaked even though they were on the ghostly plane and were technically ghosts. The shuffling and voices from downstairs ceased immediately. Whoever it was, was assessing their own safety meaning they were vulnerable. Chris rounded the bend and halted on the landing where he caught sight of the all-too-familiar long brunette hair. The person at the bottom of the stairs was Piper.

"Piper?" Chris asked before he could stop himself.

She turned to him. Her eyes grazed over him searching for any sort of injuries and trying to visually assure herself that it was him before tears amassed in them.

"Chris! We've been looking for you for hours!" She bounded up the stairs and without worrying about what his reaction would be, barreled into him. He was a head taller than she was and was holding himself away from her embrace, it didn't matter. He was here. He hadn't faded away to nothingness. "are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Chris..," Leo had come to the bottom of the stairs. Their son's expression had turned stony. Piper could tell Leo too wanted to be on the landing with them but Chris didn't want that. "you're okay?"

"Just peachy." Chris replied, "did a darklighter send you here?"

"Here?" Piper questioned starring at the grey subdued version of the manor, "Where is here?"

"The ghostly plane." Cole informed stepping for the first time onto apart of the stairs were his former in-laws could see him. Piper immediately jumped in front of her son and her arms began to flick wildly at him. Her frustration would be hilarious if he didn't agree that he should be blown up.


	13. Chapter 13

"Victor now!" Phoebe ordered as Paige withered. Her already pale skin had turned pallid, "don't get squeamish on me. Gideon!"

Victor knelt beside his Aunt. It would not be the first darklighter arrow he'd removed from an ailing family member. With the gentlest of flicks, he tried to dislodge it from her. Her shrieks of pain made him flinch. He muttered apologies as he scoped her up and shuffled her towards the sofa. It was odd he allowed himself to bemuse, how many times had she carried him like this? Her moans of pain brought him back into the focus. He took Grams' quilt from where it rested on top of the sofa and laid it atop her.

"Shimmer me to magic school." His mother demanded as she stomped into the living room. Derek who looked a bit out of his element was clenching his teeth and following behind her like a lost puppy. It was weird to see him not suggesting something to do. Or going about to get the Book of Shadows. Whilst not magical himself, he learned the craft and resented being sent away. It was one of those reoccurring arguments he and Aunt Piper would have. _I'm trying to protect you_. She'd tell him. To Derek, Phoebe said, "can you watch her? Wyatt! Bumble bee?!" she called upward to where the babies were in Wyatt's nursery. They materialized in white orbs, fire and shimmers almost in unison. "They'll protect you and we'll be back as soon as we bring back someone to heal her."

 _ **Charmed**_

"Leo…. Piper I'd say it's so good to see you," Cole began ignoring Piper's attempts to kill him. "but as you're trapped powerlessly in the ghostly plane while darklighters hunt you it's not so great to see you." He paced around them, "I've met your kid. He looks just like you Piper."

"Enough Cole," Piper spat to Leo she said, "if we're in the ghostly plane can we become ghosts-

"That'd take years." Chris interrupted. "Especially considering we didn't actually die-

He cut off mid-sentence and began stalking away from the attic. Piper and Leo exchanged glances before following after their son. He had just about made it to the front door before they caught up to him. Leo grabbed at his shoulder and he violently retracted away from him.

"There's darklighters out there." Leo said trying to keep his voice as even as possible. "and you're powerless and in danger."

"So are you." Chris returned reaching for the doorknob.

"Christopher," Piper cut in. She did not like the way his shoulders seized or the way he turned to face him. "We cannot just go prancing out there without figuring out a plan. You're going to get yourself killed."

He snorted. "I know how to survive."

"I know you do," Piper replied, "but not-

"Two weeks ago, I was someone the two of you loathed," Chris uttered. His face had turned to stone, "even though all I ever did or ever wanted to do was to protect Wy." The childish nickname had slipped out without him meaning to, "to save my brother. And all I've ever gotten from you two is annoyance and distrust so no, just because you accidentally found out who I am, that doesn't change anything."

 _ **Charmed**_

"I was meditating," Gideon told Phoebe as the reason why he hadn't answered her calls. Paige was now sitting up; the color was slowly returning to her face. Victor could not describe the uneasiness he was feeling sitting between his mother and Gideon. And when he let himself look Gideon in the eye, he only thought of a flash of silver. "and you're telling me that darklighters are congregating on the orders of another time-traveler?" Derek squirmed uncomfortably. They hadn't told Gideon that it was his son. "Piper and Leo are trapped in another plane or dimension? We have to get them back immediately. This makes all of you incredibly vulnerable."

"Any ideas?" Phoebe asked.

"Well we can start exploring planes and realms but that'd take too long," The Elder stroked at his chin. "Victor possess the power of astral projection, mayhaps he can astral project into other realms." His eyes were upon the toddler.

"You want to send a baby into another realm?" Paige questioned sounding outraged at the suggestion.

"How did you know I-I mean him how did you know he has astral projection?"

The almost glee in his eyes only made Victor wish he hadn't uttered what he'd just uttered. To the Elder he was just Ben, Chris' witch brother. He had hoped to remain just that, but his mouth once again had just gotten him into more trouble.

"You're Victor Halliwell? Oh well this is marvelous. Instead of sending your toddler form we can send _you_. You must tell me what-

"How do we send him? Is it safe?" Phoebe asked.

Gideon stood from the sofa. His long robes swayed in the breeze. "Safety is not of importance. What's of importance is getting Piper and Leo back."

"And Chris." Victor insisted.

Gideon seemed to not hear him. Instead he stalked into the hallway that led to the stairs. He was talking strategy and they all scrambled upward to follow him. On the landing the door to Magic School had been conjured.

 _ **Charmed**_

Chris was at war with himself. He'd been on his own for so long he did not want to consult anyone. Least of all his parents. This Piper wasn't his mom. Not yet. She was too young. Her face wasn't claimed by age lines and her eyes didn't have their usual warmth. They had softened some since she had found out who he was, but they weren't the same. Her hair was still long. It hadn't been singed off in a potion accident yet. She hadn't decided she actually liked it short. He didn't think he could handle it. The little boy in him wanted nothing more than to admit that he was scared and tired and just wanted a hug.

"Chris!" she called out again and he knows he's breaking her heart. The way her voice hitches reminds him of the days just before she died when Wyatt first started sneaking out to the underworld. She'd beg him to tell her the truth, but he'd brush her off.

Leo had caught up to him once again. It was funny in a way to be standing next to his father as man. The last time he saw Leo he'd been a good half-foot shorter than the man. "You have a plan," The Elder said all knowingly, "just tell us. We're all in danger here. C'mon Chris."

His tone only made him angrier. He turned on Leo, squaring up with him. It was eerie how much Wyatt resembled him. "I don't have to tell you anything. If I'm being honest, I don't give a crap about you Leo."

"That's not true," Leo responded. "you saved me when we were in dinosaur land."

Chris barked out a raspy laugh. "I only saved you because I hadn't been born yet. You were still half of the equation." He gestured towards his mother. She was evidently pregnant. His conception date window ended on Wyatt's birthday.

 _ **Charmed**_

The world he emerged in was grey. Victor rubbed at his eyes and blinked thinking maybe it'd return some shades of color but alas nothing. He'd been to two other realms in search of Aunt Paige and for her daughter. The sneezing and orbing thing had led to the discovery of a few more realms and it was always a family adventure to go figure out where they had landed next. His attempts to flame did nothing only confirming that he had no powers. Just great.

The world he'd landed in was devoid of any cars or noise but nonetheless he found himself walking towards where he knew home was. It was odd to see it in a grey tone rather than its vibrant red. Wyatt might've changed its interior in the future, turned it to a museum in show of his brilliant power, but its exterior always remained. Victor sometimes would watch it from afar in the first year or so after they went underground. He liked to imagine that maybe just maybe on the inside it'd all be alright. He'd taken a picture of it from atop a hill. Grace had loved that picture. She had begged him to see the manor.

"Hello?" he called as he walked into the foyer. All of the things, the clutter, that made their home theirs were gone too. So was the furniture. "Chris? Piper?"

"Victor," an unfamiliar voice uttered out in amazement. Victor turned towards the living room and peered into it. "Victor….do you know who I am?"

 _Do I?_ Victor wanted to say back but his mouth had dried up and his tongue didn't seem to be working. _Do I? I've only memorized every bit of your face in the picture that Mom hid in the back of her closet._

"I'm sorry what a stupid question of me to ask." Cole was staring at him as if Victor had hung the moon and all of the stars. "I just-I never thought I'd get to meet…," his voice trailed off.

 _Focus_. But he couldn't. This was his father, not so in the flesh but he was a representation of him. He couldn't help but to stare back. Even after he was old enough to know that his daddy had been a bad man, he still had longed to met him. _Five minutes_. That's all I need. He'd composed a list of questions to ask him. And here now, before Cole Turner Victor could not think of one of them.

 _ **Charmed**_

Piper had enough. Guilt be damned. "Why the hell did you split us up?" It was the question that had been nagging at her for months and especially now that she knew he was their son, "why would you jeopardize your own existence Chris?"

That stopped him in his strides. He turned to them and for the first time she truly saw her child. A hurt child, but nonetheless her child. His whispered, "because you didn't break up in my timeline. Not immediately. You stayed together, you guys tried. Even after Leo was made an Elder. You tried. I thought-

"We'd try again." Leo uttered. He had wanted to try. Piper was the one who had insisted upon them separating. Piper instead was thinking of the man who'd proclaimed he was her son just not biologically. In the midst of worrying about Chris' whereabouts she hadn't had time to process that fact that she apparently would get re-married to Derek of all people and be a mother to the man who'd trapped them here.

"Look I can't-future consequences," He had shut off like he always did. "We have to get to San Francisco Memorial."

 _ **Charmed**_

"Where's Piper and Chris?" Victor had finally managed to ask. His list of questions for his father forgotten and he was trying to stubbornly stay on task. It was the third time he asked. His father was instead intent on staring him from head to toe and making remarks about how much of Phoebe he could see in him. "Cole focus! I don't know how long I can stay here. I've never astral projected across planes."

"You're powerful," he uttered, "and your family left some time ago. But I can't follow you out of the manor."

"Okay." Victor said and as he was about to reach the front door he heard his father softly whisper, "tell your mother that I'm sorry. And that she did or will do a great job with you."

His words twisted uncomfortably in his stomach. They dug deep. His parents had loved each other. The one solace he'd taken from being the son of the heir was that at the very least his parents loved each other. But this man had caused everyone so much pain. He could remember seeing it in the eyes of his mother and Aunts when he begged them to tell stories about Cole. Aunt Piper was the one to gently tell him, _your daddy broke your mother's heart but you healed it._ He turned then and walked back to where Cole stood. He was about a half-inch shorter than him. He had never been much of a physical fighter. His powers were too offensive in nature to warrant it but he took great pleasure in hitting his father in the jaw. He was elated to find that it'd touched with something solid.

 _ **Charmed**_

Phoebe could not stop starring at the comatose version of Victor. He'd been gone for hours and they'd pushed his body downwards so that he was laying across the sofa. Derek had refused to leave. For that they gave him credit.

"It's weird isn't it?" Derek mused, "to see them all grown up."

"It does," Phoebe did not want to stress that it was his son who was threatening all of them. A parent loves their child always but she wanted to currently strangle the half-manticore who'd split up their family. She suspected that was half of the reason Derek had stayed, to protect his son. "Did your son say why he was doing this?"

"To save his daughter." There was an air of nobility in that. A justification for his son's actions. "my granddaughter," he slumped into one of the arm chairs, "Grace."

Phoebe's head snapped. That was her granddaughter's name. She lurched forward reaching for the hem of Victor's shirt. Piper had accidentally walked in on him changing out of his shirt when she'd walked into the backroom. It'd been before they knew he was her son, but Piper had told her about the tattooed initials that rested above on his hipbone. What was she even thinking? It could all be a coincidence. Grace was a common enough name. _But he adopted her_. She tugged at the hem of the shirt, the tattoo was small. Black ink outlined by green but there it was, _MRE_.

"What's the matter?" Derek questioned. He'd scrambled to his feet and was now standing over where Phoebe stood.

"Are these, are they Matthew's initials?'

Derek leaned forward examining the letters. His thick brows met at the center of his forehead, "uh yeah I guess they could be? Matthew Ryan Everett."

"I think we might share a granddaughter in the future."


	14. Chapter 14

**N** ot for the first time in his life did Victor wish he could sense his family. It was unlikely that he'd be able to do on the ghostly plane anyways considering all the rest of his powers were currently not working but he'd been wondering around alternate San Francisco for nearly an hour and could feel himself becoming untethered. If he didn't find his wayward relatives soon, he'd been forcefully returned to his body with nothing to tell his worried mother and Aunt Paige. His head was already beginning to feel heavy and every few moments he had to force his eyelids back open. His feet felt as if they'd been replaced by anchors and instead of walking, he was pounding and dragging his way through San Francisco.

He had checked all of the usual spots, _P3,_ the memorial, the park and even their old high school. Victor had even considered scaling the Golden Gate Bridge but figured there was no way in hell any of them could make it up there without orbing anyways. He was running out of ideas. Maybe, Chris was using Resistance hiding spots? _Maybe if you'd just joined him, you'd know where they are_ , chided the voice inside of his head. It was too late to change that now. Anyways, stopping Wyatt from turning evil would save a lot more lives than if the Resistance had unbound him and forced them to fight. Victor was not even sure if he'd win. Wyatt had been using his powers freely since before birth, half of his had been removed since Victor was a fetus. Something that his mother had taken to amending. Just for now, she told him, just to protect you from whatever threat's after Wyatt. He reasoned she felt guilty for appeasing the Elders and stripping away half of who he was. He tried to tell her that it was for the best and that he enjoyed just being a witch. _Powers aren't inherently good or evil_ , she told him. She didn't say it aloud, but he knew she was thinking, _look at Wyatt._

As he passed by Main Street, he felt someone grab his upper arm and forcefully tug him behind an alleyway. The abruptness of it all made him lose his footing but he recovered and was getting ready to fight when he realized it'd been Leo's hand. They were behind P3.

"What are you doing here?" Piper asked her eyes glaring widely behind him probably for Phoebe or Paige.

"I'm astral projecting," he told them blinking his eyes to refocus their blurry presentations. "look I don't have much time but I'm a connection to Mom and Aunt Paige. They wanna know how to get you guys back."

"It's a portal." Chris said as he felt up the walls around him. "This is where I fell through. I just don't think I can…"

Victor had heard the snap of the arrow before he saw the darklighter lurking on top of the building. His eyes were still squeezed partially shut. He leaped forward, trying to shove Chris out of the way but Victor was only expecting pain. Instead he felt as if something heavy was crushing his chest and he was gasping for breath.

"Honey?" his mother questioned helping him to sit up. As he gathered air back into his lungs his sight came back into focus. The light of the manor was harsh on his eyes that had been adjusted to the grey hue of the ghostly plane. He squeezed them shut to protect them.

"I'm alright," He said. His hands went to his shoulder searching for the arrow wound but finding none. If the arrow passed through him did it hit Chris? Had that been Matthew and Wyatt's plan? To bring Chris to the ghostly plane to make him powerless and then kill him? That did not seem like Wyatt at all. The Wyatt he knew was unable to kill Chris and never liked to toy with his prey unnecessarily. "But they think a darklighter trapped them there with a portal and Chris might've gotten hit with an arrow." His mother and Aunt exchanged a look he had seen so many times in his childhood. "and Leo can't heal in that world."

Phoebe stood, "we have to go back to Magic School and get Gideon's help. Portals and all of this is beyond us right now and we're a sister down."

Victor wanted to open his mouth to protest, but how could he explain why he felt so uneasy around Gideon? He'd never met the guy. Aunt Paige had taken over the position as headmistress by the time he went to school and nobody ever mentioned Gideon. Victor had assumed that he'd just retired or gone on to do more Elderly stuff.

 _ **Charmed**_

"It's gone clear through," Leo announced to his wife. They were both supporting their son who despite his best efforts to hide it, was in agony from the pain inflicted by the arrow. It was a small blessing as neither of them could touch the arrow or risk poisoning themselves and the fetus version of their son.

Piper could not focus on his words. Instead she was looking for some place out of vantage points of stray arrows to allow her son to rest. They found that place inside of P3, in the backroom that had been Chris' bedroom. It had no windows and in the emptiness, they could hear anyone sneaking up on them. Piper wished that lumpy sofa was still here but as it was not she settled for gently lowering Chris to the ground. At every of his winces and gasps she said sorry. When they finally got him to the ground, she gently brushed back strains of wet hair from his forehead. He was so handsome.

"Chris," Leo spoke his voice regaining a sternness he'd been afraid to employ since discovering that Chris was their son. "I need to take off your shirt to see how bad the wound is." Piper recognized that the calmness in Leo's voice was from a past where he'd served as a medic. She was thankful for his ability to remain focused. She feared if she'd dared speak she'd cry. _C'mon Phoebe and Paige, we need you_.

"No," Chris insisted, his eyes struggling to stay open. "there's nothing you can do without your powers anyway. There's no point."

"No point?" Piper asked. "Do you have a death wish Christopher?" He looked away from her and did not give an answer though his silence spoke volumes. To Leo she nodded. "Christopher Halliwell, I swear if you don't let us try, I will ground you for the rest of your life do you hear me?"

"I'm going to do it as gently as I can…. Piper? Grab the other hem of his shirt."

It took her a moment to steady herself before gripping the edge of the shirt. Together they methodically raised the shirt. Leo raised Chris' unaffected arm and freed it. She swapped sides with Leo to allow him to do the same to the injured side. As she passed, she caught sight of his torso and her stomach clenched. There were scar marks, gashes that must've been deep once crossing across his body. Beside them were burn marks and what looked like teeth marks. He was watching her. She forced herself not to react and instead gripped his sweaty hand.

The wound itself reminded her of the first time she'd seen Leo's wound. It was angry. A blackened circle that was pulsating poison throughout her son. Leo ripped at his own shirt and with a precision not lost by time, began to bandage the wound. His eyes too grazed over the markings on their boy's body.

"If it went straight through…" Piper began.

"That doesn't matter," Chris choked out. "it'll just take longer." He reached forward and with probably what was remaining of his strength ripped his shirt from Leo's hands. He clutched to his chest hiding the worst of his scars away. "Listen to me. If there is a portal it has to be nearby. Look it might be too late to save me, but I can save-

"We're not giving up on you," Piper interrupted.

He still would not meet her eyes. "Dying was always a possibility of this and maybe it was just my destiny to come back to warn you guys about… about Wy."

"This is _not_ your destiny Christopher." Piper vowed.

 _ **Charmed**_

"It is incredible, your power…. astral projecting across the realms."

"Yeah it's great," Paige deadpanned, "can we please have help? Portal? Darklighters?"

"I warned Leo," Gideon said his voice turning from glee to mournful. "I told him something like this could happen. Elders are not meant to stay on Earth. What do you need?"

"We know where a portal is," Paige replied, "we just have to figure out how to open it."

Gideon walked towards a cart. From it he pulled a dusty tome and opened its yellowed pages to one about portals. His Aunt took the book without a second thought deeming it handy. The page described the intricacies of portals. They required both a spell and a potion to re-open. That or the death of the person who'd conjured it, not necessarily the one who created it. Matthew was powerful, but Victor doubted it was him that created the portal from nothingness. Chris once told him that he tried to create a time portal to see if the future had changed. Even with Halliwell magic and a potion it was still unstable.

"Chris was attacked in the alleyway between P3. It's unlikely they moved very far from there," Victor announced once the potion had started to shimmer and turn the right shade. There was a chorus of agreement and Paige bottled the potion. At her nod, his mother grabbed onto his arm.

 **A/N: I'm so sorry for the very long delay. Hope you're still enjoying this story.**


	15. Chapter 15

It was hard to tell how much time had passed since Chris had been shot. The only stark differences in the ghostly plane were between night and day. The only marker was the pallid color Chris' skin had taken and the short breathes he was struggling with. His eyes had become glassy. The sound of footsteps approaching drew Piper's attention from her ailing son.

"Victor?" she called out hopefully.

The figure that came into view was shorter than Victor was. It was Matthew. He clutched a darklighter's crossbow in his hand. Piper was the first to scramble to her feet. Her hands went up in instinct, but nothing came of her frantic movements.

"Nuh-ahuh," Matthew teased as he positioned his crossbow at Piper. "I'm taking Chris home."

"All of this just to get me home?" Chris sputtered. Blood oozed from his mouth, staining his pale chest. "Wyatt's gotten so creative."

"You're not taking him." Piper vowed positioning herself in front of Chris and Leo. "I won't let you."

"You and what powers Piper?" When she stepped forward, he pointed the arrow towards her stomach. He knew she was pregnant. Without warning Leo fell to his knees. An arrow had pierced his stomach.

"Leo!" Piper cried but she stood where she was. She loved Leo. A part of her would always love him but Chris was her child. When Matthew began to walk towards Chris, she stepped forward slamming her fists into his chest and kicking wildly. She had never taken martial arts like Phoebe had and Matthew was taller and stronger than she was. His hands clasped around her wrists pushing her away from him.

"I don't want to hurt you Piper." He admitted. She could see the redness in his eyes. They made the pale grey eyes stand out more. There was a veracity in this statement. Why did he want to spare her? She wretched her hands from his grasp and continued her physical assault. With each groan from Leo and Chris she kicked harder. He grabbed her arm and twisted it so that she screamed in pain.

"Let her go." Leo growled as he got to his feet. With all of his weight he managed to knock Matthew to the ground.

"I shoot the woman now?" Marek roared.

"No! No! I'll go with you." Chris called out. "Just don't hurt her."

Matthew kicked at Leo, knocking the elder backwards. He shoved the arrow in deeper to the Elder's gut. Marek kept his arrow pointed at Piper. He went to help Chris to his feet. Piper knelt beside Leo to assure that he was still relatively okay.

"Go after our son." Leo told her.

"Save Wyatt." Chris hissed.

Piper heard the faint rush of the traffic before anyone else did. The darklighter dissolved into thousands of dark orbs. Her powers were not as effective on Matthew, but it sent him flying forward, burning the skin on his back. She could hear her sisters, but Piper rushed forward to collect the limp form of her son who'd crumbled when the darklighter was blown up. He reformed at her feet gasping. Before she could blow him up again an arrow landed squarely in his chest.

 _ **Charmed**_

Victor kicked away the darklighter's crossbow from where Matthew had dropped it. He was sprawled out on the floor. His back bore the brunt of Piper's explosive powers. The skin was blackened in the center of his back-spreading outward into different shades of red. For fear of touching the damaged skin, Victor held him there telekinetically. Paige orbed away with the injured Leo and Chris.

"Wait!" Phoebe called halted Piper from trying to blow the half-manticore up again. "we can handle this a different way than murder."

"He tried to take my son. He sent us here."

"He's hurt and outnumbered." Phoebe pointed out. "And I think his reasons are noble."

Victor squinted at her. Did she know something? Did she know why Matthew was really here?

"I thought we said no more secrets Phoebe."

"He's trying to save his daughter. Grace." Phoebe hoped Piper would leave it at that. Victor was looking at her with such desperation in his eyes. But her obstinate sister could only echo the name over and over again.

The realization seemed to hit Piper all at a once. Her eyes flickered between her nephew who while telekinetically holding Matthew to the ground was kneeling closely to the injured man. It was a familiar kind of closeness. Grace was Phoebe's granddaughter. Victor looked as if he were contemplating flaming away.

"You know." He whispered. The whisper was for his mother and his mother alone.

"I do and Victor you must know that _nothing_ would stop me from loving you for exactly who you are."

He turned away from them, but it was evident in the way his shoulders heaved that he was crying. Phoebe knelt beside him enveloping him in a hug. Piper felt her shoulders slouching with the weight of the last days. _This family needs so much therapy_ , the cynical voice in her head whispered. The man who just tried to kill them was her nephew's future love.

 _ **Charmed**_

"Thanks." Chris whispered as the gaping wound in his shoulder faded and the familiar warmth of healing hands enclosed on him. The headmaster gave him an attempt of a smile and went to Leo.

Paige slumped down beside him on the sofa. The grand hallway was empty save for them. As Leo was healed the nursery teacher brought in Wyatt and Victor. The pair were donned in matching pj's and they toddled unsteadily. Upon seeing his father Wyatt orbed to Leo's lap. Victor lit up too at seeing the man but as his powers were newly unbound the toddler decided to walk the rest of the distance to the Elder who was an endless source of tickles and raspberries.

"You really scared us there, future boy." Paige told Chris over the giggles escaping from the babies.

Chris gathered the pillow from the sofa and leaned it against his stomach embracing it. "I really scared me too." It was a moment of uncharacteristically childishness, but Paige appreciated the honesty. "Is Piper okay?"

"She will be once she sees that you're okay." Leo interjected.

Chris scowled.

"You're our child Chris. She was ready to follow you to the future to keep you safe."

His weary heart could not stand for Leo explaining things about his mother. He knew his mother loved him. The woman in the alley was becoming that mother but she was still Piper. And Leo would always be Leo. A disappointment. A fire burning in Chris' chest. Leo seemed to sense that Chris hadn't wanted to hear anymore and resumed to amusing the boys with photokinesis. The lights danced in the air above them. Piper appeared then in a swarth of flames. The sensation of being flamed viruses orbing was distinctively different. Though you weren't actually feeling the sensation of burning it was unsettling to watch your view being enveloped by oranges and reds. More than anything she wanted to embrace her son who smiled at her appearance and then became a mask again. Instead she walked over to the son who would let her hold him. Wyatt gleamed up at her and chorused "Mama's." As she settled the little blonde boy on her hip, she realized what a mistake she had made. Chris had nearly died and here she was cuddling his brother. She had two boys now. Paige was tactful enough to stand from the sofa and excuse herself claiming she needed a nap.

"Alright this was swell but if you don't mind me, I need to find out what's after Wyatt."

"Chris…," but he was already gone. Wyatt echoed her calling out 'Kwis', all he could muster. But Chris didn't reappear not for her or his brother's calls.

 _ **Charmed**_

"You're sure this won't hurt him?" Derek asked clutching his toddler. Phoebe was holding out a bottle that had been spiked with power stripping potion. They thought it would be easier to bind the powers of a toddler than the man who sat in the crystal circle. The spell that Victor had cast made him comatose. His back was still flayed. Leo hadn't returned yet from Magic School.

"Derek," Phoebe huffed. "I gave my newborn this. It's just until we save Wyatt. And Matthew."

He took the outstretched potion and offered it to the baby who hungrily sipped at it. Moments later a glow enveloped both versions of Matthews. The baby appeared unaffected by his loss of powers, his adult self-jerked upright and yelled out in agony.

"What did you do to me?" he seethed.

Their powers were complicated. Victor could recall the first time they ever breached the topic of them. When Matthew came to live with them after Derek married Piper, he was afraid of them. He hated the moments when he lost control and transformed into a manticore. It was the look on his father's face, he said, the revulsion that only lasted fleetingly, that made him so fearful of what he was. It was one of the first things that bounded them together as step-cousins. It was in those moments that Victor was starting to feel something more than familial bonds.

Victor kicked away the furthest crystal. His stomach clenched, and his throat burned as he watched Matthew in vain attempt to teleport or to transform. Victor had been too young to remember being bound, but having his powers returned to him, that feeling of being whole made him empathize for what had been taken from Matthew.

"You do realize that our evil overlord sent me, that we've been keeping in contact through a telepathic bond?" Matthew's eyes had grown wide and he was running a hand through his chestnut curls.

"You're not a witch. You don't need to have powers to keep the façade up." Phoebe was walking to the tiny table as she began to clean up the potion ingredients. She looked heavenly and called out for her brother-in-law. Leo appeared and glowered at the man who was still sitting on the floor of the attic. His wound had been healed but it looked as if he was ready to forget all about his pacifist vows.

"He's bound Leo." Victor interceded. "He's mortal now. He needs healing."

Leo frowned. "Why would I do that? Heal the man who tried to kill me and my son."

Victor never realized how much taller he was than his Uncle. They rarely spent time together in his later years when he'd grown to his adult height. He folded his arms across his chest. "It wasn't a question Leo. _Heal_ him."

The threat wasn't spoken aloud but between the body language and the anger radiating off both parties made Phoebe acutely aware. It was no secret that Chris and Leo had some issues. That their relationship since Chris arrived had been tumultuous. Phoebe thought retro cognitively that it was because they were so similarly stubborn. But Victor didn't seem to have any outward disregard for Leo. Phoebe couldn't help but shudder at the tone and what was implied from the way Victor stood, squared off and stone faced.

At the cold stare, Leo knelt to the floor. He laid out one hand over Matthew's back and slowly the skin began to turn from its hellish appearance to its pale color.

"Vic," Matthew said as he got to his feet. He brushed the dirt off his jeans and nodded at Leo in an apparent thanks, "can we talk? _In private_?"

Aware that all eyes were upon them, Victor grabbed Matthew's shoulder. They re-appeared outside of _Quake_. The spot that would one-day become Piper Halliwell's restaurant. When Piper and Derek got married, Victor was a bus-boy there. It was the only job he had ever had. And the only reason he stayed working there was that Matthew started to work there too.

Matthew blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. He scoffed at the sight of _Quake_. "Ever so the romantic."

Victor choose to ignore that remark. "Why don't we grab something to eat?"

"A date?" Matthew gushed. "don't you know it's still kind of frowned upon in this time."

He was getting defensive and witty. It was a coping mechanism his mother told him, one that he used exclusively when he first moved to the manor. "Matthew. You wanted to talk."

 _ **Charmed**_

Paige felt herself being torn in this family meeting. On the loveseat sat Piper and Leo, firmly, a united front. On the armchair sat Phoebe, the opposition. Paige was standing listening to both sides bringing up valid points. Noticeably absent were the boys from the future. Her nephews Victor and Chris and apparently Victor's husband, the half-manticore. All of this new information was making her head spin. For once she understood why Chris was so staunchly against telling them information from the future.

"He was sent here on orders from _your son_." Phoebe was saying, "and now he's bound, and you want to send him back to the future to be slaughtered?"

"He tried to kill us and kidnap Chris to be brought back to Wyatt." Leo replied. "why would we protect him?"

"Because he's family?" Phoebe roared. "he was the father of my granddaughter."

"Your _adopted_ granddaughter."

Paige turned to glare at her elder sister. Piper could be obtuse at times, but it didn't excuse what she was implying about Phoebe's grandchild. The one that had died.

Piper caught her glance and dropped her eyes, "Paige I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply anything."

"Well you did," Paige said, "and didn't Matthew say something about being your son? Wouldn't that make him family?"

The mysterious statement had come up again. They had all pondered about its meaning. Had something happened to Derek? Had Piper adopted him? He had specifically told Piper that. Paige had never voiced what a little voice inside of her was telling her. That Matthew was Piper's stepson. Paige had seen the way Derek looked at her sister when he thought no one else was looking. And she knew that they spoke to each other more than Piper would admit. Mostly about their magical babies, but Paige had always thought there was something more to it.

"And what about Derek?" Phoebe questioned.

"What about him?" Piper snapped sounding a bit more defensive than she needed to be. "His son will be sent back to the future. We'll save the future and then he will have had never came back and everything will be honky dory."

Paige fought back a snort at her sister's simplistic hand-waving of how time-travel worked. The noise on the baby monitors disrupted what anyone else was going to say. In silence, Phoebe and Piper marched upstairs to their fussy toddlers. She again felt that sting of being left out, though she knew she wasn't ready for a baby of her own. Nonetheless that she was single anyways.

 _ **Charmed**_

Chris and Victor sat alone on one of the reddish-orange beams of the Golden Gate Bridge. Each of them was nursing a drink of their choice, a vodka soda for Victor and a beer for Chris. The alcohol came curtsey of P3, not that Piper knew that just yet. The sun was slipping behind the mountains of San Francisco and it would be night soon and cold but neither Victor nor Chris had any intention of leaving soon.

"I can't believe they talked Derek into binding his powers," Chris mused taping his fingers along the edge of the bottle. In his best imitation he added, " _His powers are a part of who he is. Taking them away would be like taking away his arm. They keep him safe_."

"Matthew tried to kill you."

"Wouldn't be the first time a brother has tried to kill me."

Victor twitched at the nonchalant way Chris was saying that. "Though Wyatt never actually killed you. Maybe there's still some good within him."

"And maybe the Elders go commando." Chris retorted. He took a swig of his beer, downing his fourth bottle. "we're still at square one when it comes to Wy."


End file.
